Hero
by The C Trayne
Summary: Penny wonders if she spoke the truth when she said she loved Leonard. That is until he does something she will never be able to forget. Short summary but its supposed to be. :P Basically all L/P with minor appearances from others.
1. Chapter 1: Unsure

**Let me start by saying that I am a HUGE Big Bang Theory Fan and since I feel the need to write about something to clear my head I figured I'd try out a little TBBT fanfic. Now the nice thing about writing fan fiction is that you can make it as extreme or as realistic as you want. I plan on doing one of each at some point but since I'm a huge L/P shipper and kind of a sucker for heroics I decided I would try out the absolute extreme end first. Now I know nothing like could or would ever happen on the show but that's the fun of it. I'll be trying to keep the characters as close to canon as possible in terms of how they act. Thanks in advance to all who decide to check it out. Oh and this is supposed to take place during season 6 shortly after episode 8.**

The Hero

Chapter 1: Unsure

It had been nearly a month since Penny had admitted her love to Leonard. Love? What did that mean? The more she thought about it, the more she felt unsure about everything that had been going on. Sure, her emotions had been racing when it had happened, she was angry, she was frustrated, and she was tired but does that make these feelings any less true? She just didn't know.

She had been in love before... at least, she thought she had, with a man very different from Leonard. Bigger, stronger, more aggressive, _and dumber, _Penny thought. She remembered dating Kurt, how hard it was to get him to do anything that wasn't about him. Everything seemed like a battle, but she was continuously drawn to him like a fly to honey. _Was that it then? _She wondered. Was being with Leonard too... easy? He did everything she could want and more... she would say "jump" and he didn't just ask "how high?" He asked, "how far?" "how many times?" "one foot or two?" It could get exhausting but also boring knowing that anything she wanted she could have if she just batted her eyelashes.

That wasn't a bad thing though, Penny knew, it was just the way Leonard was. The only women in his life before her had never shown him any kind of appreciation and so he was drawn to it, doing anything and everything he could just to gain some kind of acknowledgment. Penny sighed as she poured her self a glass of wine. "Why is it always so hard," she asked the room aloud. Leonard was a great guy and she was lucky to be with someone as smart as he was. He had a great job, good friends, and didn't care that she was merely a waitress or had a low IQ. Why then did she feel so lost. Mere months ago she didn't know if she would stay with him and now she loved him? Did that make sense? Did she always love and just not under stand?

Penny thought about how many guys shes been with would have stayed if that had, had jobs as well paying as Leonard's and she brought home nothing. Any of them? She wasn't sure. She sighed again and poured more wine into the glass.

Her phone pinged and she looked down to see it was none other than Leonard. She smiled as she read, _Hey, there's a fair in town tomorrow, do you want to go?_ Maybe that's what she needed,a day they could just go out and have some fun together. She quickly responded and sat down on the couch thinking about the day to come.


	2. Chapter 2: A Familiar Face

**So I'm basically just writing and uploading as I bust it out and there will probably be a couple chapters up tonight. Not sure how long its gonna be just yet but we'll see. Thanks to any who decide to read.**

**Forgot to do this last episode but I am not taking credit for any of the characters nor do I own any thing associated with TBBT.**

Chapter 2: A familiar face

The fair proved to be a great way to spend the day. It was in one of the few fields found in Pasadena and was full of games, rides, and food vendors.

Leonard and Penny walked hand in hand through the aisles looking at all the different vendors. They had gone on most of the rides already and Penny was holding the small bear that Leonard had won her at the "knock the bottles down" game. He was still disappointed he hadn't been able to win the biggest one but she had made sure to tell him it didn't matter.

They had just gotten cotton candy and decided to sit down for a little bit and rest their feet a little while.

"I'm really glad we decided to do this today," Penny said sitting down at one of the picnic tables set up.

"Me too," Leonard responded, "we don't get to get out to things like this often enough."

Penny smiled, it was true. They didn't do much together if anything at all outside so it was good to get out of the house. She looked across at him as he picked at his cotton candy. She really was lucky to be with him and she knew it. As her mind wandered Penny thought about the night she told him she loved him. _He really has been great about it hasn't he? _She thought. Penny had asked him not to make a big deal about and he hadn't. Not exactly anyways, he hadn't brought it up again or pressured her to say it which was great, but there was a definite change in his persona.

He was confident, he was collected but most of all he was affectionate. It was like he was thanking her in his own special way. She smiled again and reached across the table taking the front of his shirt and pulling him close to her for a kiss.

"Wow," said Leonard surprised, "what was that for?"

"Oh, nothing," Penny said still smiling, "I'll be right back, I gotta pee." She got up and headed out into the crowd. Leonard smiled to himself as he watched her go. He didn't know where the bathrooms were but he knew she'd find them and then find him again. Was there anything that could go wrong this day?

Penny exited the bathroom building a short time later, "ugh its always so gross in public bathrooms," she said to no one in particular looking down at her now wet flip flops.

"Such a shame," came a familiar voice from ahead of her.

Penny looked up to see someone she never expected? "Kurt?"

Kurt stood with his hands behind him and took a staggering step towards her, he was clearly drunk. "Kurt whats behind your back?"

**So I know I seem to be going back and forth with Penny but thats kind of the point as this part of the fic. Shes confused, she doesn't really know what love is, if shes really been in it or if she really does Leonard. The next chapter is the good one so stay tuned should be up tonight but probably pretty late.**


	3. Chapter 3: Hero

**So this is the part of the fic that I have spent my entire day at work thinking about and thus it may end up being a bit long. Its basically the reason I'm writing this because as I said I'm a sucker for heroics and this hopefully takes that to the extreme. It'll probably be my last post tonight so I apologize in advance because it will end on a cliff hanger but I'll try my best to get more up tomorrow.**

**Still don't own squat. Haha**

Chapter 3: The Hero

Penny had been gone a while and Leonard wasn't sure if he should call her or not. The fair wasn't particularly big so he wasn't too worried about not finding her. He picked at the last of his cotton candy a bit and figured he'd get up and wander. They'd bump into each other eventually he knew and if not there was always their cell phones. "Oh technology," he mused to himself, "what would we do without you."

He wandered a bit this way and that, not really looking at anything in particular. He laughed as he watched a group of kids wrestling in one of the big bouncy house things. Many people would think back and wish to be that old again, Leonard on the other hand thought of his childhood and his mother and decided he was happy where he was.

As he considered whether he should try his luck at one of the games again in hopes of winning a bigger prize for Penny he heard it. It started as a single ear splitting scream, then erupted as more people started yelling. "Run!" he heard from one side, "he's crazy!" yelled another. Leonard didn't know what was happening but something in the back of his mind told him Penny was not okay. He took off running.

Leonard found the source of the commotion not far away. People were scattering and it was hard to make out what was happening, there was a man outside of the bathrooms with his back to the building yelling and waving something in the air. His anger was directed at someone Leonard couldn't see through all the people and tents set up.

He moved his way carefully to the side and the sun reflected briefly off the mans face. "Kurt?" Leonard asked the air questioningly. "What's he doing here?" Then it hit him... Penny. "Oh no," he muttered as he started picking his way through the throngs of people.

Leonard had gone barely a few feet when his body froze. He couldn't help it, the blood drained from his face and he felt his muscles go week when he realized what Kurt was holding... a gun. Leonard panicked, he didn't know what to do. Kurt was huge, practically an ogre, he wouldn't be able to even scratch him in a fight let alone when he had a gun. Fear held him in place.

He didn't know what to do, what help would he be? That was until he saw her, standing in front of Kurt several feet away but rooted in place because she didn't know what this big man would do, was Penny. Suddenly and without warning he took off, _how far is it? _He thought, _one hundred yards maybe two?_ He had to get there, he just had too.

They say when you have a near death experience everything slows down. Your mind is able to process hundreds sometimes thousands of thoughts in the span of a few short seconds. What then happens when the person whom you love most in this world is in danger. When your so far but you want to help. Leonard didn't know but his mind did and it wasn't a long run but to him it felt like miles.

_Am I really doing this? _

_Hes got a gun!_

_I don't want to die, not now, not here?_

Leonard felt himself hesitate, fear of death wasn't something to be ashamed of right? He didn't know.

He saw Penny again as he ran and his thoughts raced latching on to every memory they shared.

_He had just gotten back from the north pole and he was watching her face light up as she looked at the snowflake he brought back just before she jumped on him._

_They were cuddling on the couch watching their favorite movies._

_Penny was teasing Sheldon by showing him the food in her mouth._

_He thought of when they broke Penny's bed because the sex was too rough._

_He thought of their fights and how they always seemed to get through it._

_And he thought of losing her, how depressed he had been when she left, how it seemed like his life wouldn't go on. _ And just like that it hit him.

He didn't want to die, never that. But what he wanted even less was to spend his life without the women just yards away. If it meant she would live then Leonard would gladly take the bullet. Hell, he'd take 100 to keep any part of her being from getting scratched.

With tears in his eyes Leonard doubled his pace. He was sprinting now unsure of how long he had been running or even how far he had left to go. He took a second to focus on the scene unfolding in front of him and he blanched.

Kurt was done waving the gun, he was done walking around crazily, his feet were set and his face square, the gun was in front of him aimed directly for his loves heart.

The crowd had thinned greatly and he had little hindrance during the last twenty yards of his sprint but he knew he wouldn't be in time. He could see Penny shaking in fear, as the man across from her said something and laughed.

It wouldn't end like this, Leonard wouldn't. He panicked and screamed, "NO, GET AWAY FROM HER!"It wasn't his best line nor was it supposed to be, but it accomplished its task perfectly. Kurt hesitated as he came barreling towards them, turning his eyes back to Penny, Kurt put his finger on the trigger.

It all happened in an instant, unable to control his momentum Leonard slammed into Penny far harder than he intended, their heads collided and he watched as she fell backwards clearly dazed. BANG! It felt like he had been hit with a bat. He tried to keep running, wanted to continue his momentum forward but his legs wouldn't respond. The ground rushed up to meet him as he collapsed.

His glasses had fallen off when he hit the ground but he was able to make out a few shapes. Penny struggling to get up in front of him, the dark stain on his once gray sweat shirt, and worst of all Kurt, still laughing aiming the gun once more at Penny. "No," Leonard gasped trying to crawl towards her. He tried to move his legs, tried to do anything but they wouldn't listen, he reached for her attempting to block as much of her body as he could with his arms.

Leonard looked at Kurt, stared him in the eyes as the adrenaline started to wear off and he could feel the pain in his stomach. His eyes closed slowly, letting the world fall into darkness. The last thing he heard before he fully lost consciousness was another resounding, BANG!

**So like I said a bit longer 'nd obviously a little extreme. I don't expect anything like this to ever occur in the show its just fun to write about stuff like this. Sorry for the cliffhanger but you'll get to see what happens tomorrow! I don't know if anyone has been in any kind of scary situation but I can tell from personal experience that the mind really does race. I hit a deer with my car once and only had about a second of seeing it before I hit (it was dark) and my mind went through more thoughts than I can count in that single second. The minds crazy ain't it?**


	4. Chapter 4: Fifty-fifty

**So just a brief heads up here, this episode is supposed to be semi non-descriptive. You'll see what I mean when you read it but I'm not leaving out details, everything that transpired will be explained, don't fret. :)**

**Unfortunately, I didn't win the lottery last night so I have not been able to buy TBBT yet and thus still don't own any of it... dang.**

Chapter 4: 50/50

"Please," Penny screamed, "just tell me hes going to be okay." Tears were streaming down her face smudging her make up but she didn't care. She continued to hold onto the doctors jacket in front of her pleading him to tell her it would be okay.

"I'm afraid I can't do that right now," the doctor replied taking a step back. "Just please try and relax we're doing everything we can."

Penny tried to take a few deep breaths, she tried to calm her self down. "I'm sorry," she gasped, "I'm just so scared."

"I know," the doctor said, "we're doing everything we can." The doctor paused briefly as he reviewed the clipboard in his hand. "Your boyfriend has lost a lot of blood, and we don't know how much damage the bullet has done, if any, to his major organs. I'll let you know as soon as we learn anything."

Just like that the doctor was gone, and Penny was alone in the waiting room. She collapsed in a near by chair and allowed the tears to flow once more. She wrapped her arms around her body swaying slowly from side to side as silent sobs racked through her body.

Why did this happen? What had they done to deserve this? Penny thought of Kurt and looking down the barrel of the gun he was pointing at her certain her time on this planet was about to meet its end. Then she heard Leonard yelling, she saw him running towards them. There was no fear in his eyes as he crossed the few yards he needed to put himself in the way of the bullet.

_No fear,_ Penny thought, only love. There he was so ready to give his life for hers, and he just might have done that if the doctors couldn't repair whatever damage had been done. And Penny had barely been able to tell him she loved him. She hated herself.

She was with the single greatest man she had ever met and she had been questioning her feelings towards him. She knew then in that moment that she loved him. A man who was so giving, who never asked her why, who did whatever she asked, and now a man who had likely sacrificed himself to keep her alive. Was that not a man deserving of her love?

Then she did something she never thought she'd do again. She started praying.

_I don't know if there is anyone actually up there or not. After hanging out with the guys so long its hard to think that there is some giant guy in the sky who watches everything. I could just be talking to thin air for all I know._

_What I do know is that the man I love needs help. So please, please if there I anything up there, anything that can happen please bring him back to me. I'll do anything! I'll tell him I love him everyday, I'll show him how important he is to me. Please just don't leave me alone again._

She opened her eyes and looked around the waiting room feeling so alone again. She didn't like it. She sent a quick text to her friends telling them they needed to be here.

"Excuse me," came a voice from the side, "are you here with..." the doctor looked down at her clipboard, "Mr. Hofstadter?"

Penny tried to croak out a yes but her throat wouldn't work. She coughed and tried again. "Yes," she replied weakly.

"The surgeons have begun work on your boyfriend immediately, there is some serious internal bleeding that they have to get in check before it gets worse."

Penny blanched, _internal bleeding?_ What was that, what did it mean? She was getting frantic again? "What? Whats that mean? What happened? Is he gonna be okay?"

The nurse turned a page of the clipboard. She cleared her throat clearly not looking forward to her next sentence. "It seems that the bullet ricocheted of one of his floating ribs, tore through a kidney, and exited out his back taking a piece of his lower spine with it."

Penny didn't understand what any of that meant but it sounded bad. The tears were flowing like a waterfall now and she could barely control herself. "Just please tell me hes going to be ok!" she yelled, "what are his chances!"

The nurses face visibly sank. "Right now," she started, "I'd put his chances at about fifty-fifty." With that she turned and exited through the double doors to the back area.

_Fifty-fifty_

_Fifty-fifty_

_Fifty-fifty _

The number echoed through her head over and over again.

_Fifty-fifty_

_Fifty-fifty_

"Oh God," she muttered falling back into her chair.


	5. Chapter 5: Confession

**So hope everyone is enjoying it so far! I appreciate all the reviews and helpful tips, etc. Its always nice to see feedback. :) I know the story has been a bit depressing thus far but hopefully things will start to change. Still not sure just how long this is gonna be but its fun to write so I'm gonna keep going.**

**Still haven't come across any BBT characters that I own... balls.**

Chapter 5: Confessions

It didn't take long for the rest of the gang to arrive. Penny had sent a rather non-descriptive text out to them simply stating that Leonard was in the hospital and she needed help. Naturally they were there in a flash, it was nice to have them there. Friends to comfort her, to hold her, to help her through this. It wasn't enough, she wanted to be in Leonard's arms, and she knew that she wouldn't be at peace again until that came to be.

It had been hard at first when the gang arrived. Naturally they wanted to know what had happened, but Penny was finding it harder and harder to find the words to describe it. She got across that he was shot, it was bad, and she didn't know what was going to happen.

"How bad is it?" Bernadette asked lifting her head off Howard's shoulder and looking at her teary eyed friend.

"I don't know, I didn't really understand what the nurse was saying," she paused trying to remember the conversation, ugh why had she been so frantic. "Something about the bullet hitting his kidney, and his spine, and bleeding inside or something I don't know," she finished frustrated.

"I think you mean internal bleeding," Sheldon piped up from a different chair sitting next to Amy. Penny turned on him with a glare that through the watery eyes and smudged makeup had even the great Sheldon Cooper shifting uneasily in his seat.

She got up and started pacing through the rows of chairs trying to figure out what went wrong. Trying to figure out what she had done to end up in this situation. Her pace picked up as she looked around at her friends all dealing with grief in their own way.

Raj sat alone, there was no alcohol in the hospital obviously so he just sat in silence ringing his hands together. Penny had no idea what could be going on in his head.

Bernadette and Howard sat together, her head on his shoulder, and his arm around her. Penny could tell she was fighting back tears. It was too hard to look at them so she looked away.

She was Amy and Sheldon, even they were comforting each other. Holding hands on one of the arm rests that separated their two chairs.

It was too much for her to take... she turned away from them all and resumed her frenzied pacing.

"Sweetie, you need to relax, everything's going to be okay," Bernadette said trying to comfort her friend... unfortunately she didn't understand what was going on in Penny's head.

Penny turned towards her friend, her eyes seething. "Okay?" All her frustrations, all her fears, every emotion she had building inside her was about to burst forth from the jar she had sealed tight around them. "Okay?" she asked again her voice rising.

"Everything is not going to be okay!" She was yelling now, "do you know what chance he has of living?" She had left this out before not wanting to scare anyone but she couldn't stop herself. "Fifty percent!" Penny screamed, "he has a fifty percent chance of making it out of this hospital alive! 50% that's like an F! When has Leonard ever gotten an F?"

She was panicking now, tears ran freely down her face, she was finding it harder and harder to breath. Penny started shaking and had to collapse into one of the empty chairs to prevent herself from toppling over.

Surprisingly it was Raj who made the first move, changing seats to sit next to penny, he put his arm around her in silent comfort giving her a place to let her tears flow.

Silence fell over the room , save for Penny's sobs as the two couples put their heads together in silent prayer hoping their friend would be okay.

**Shorter chapter I know, sorry. Figured it would be best to give a chapter to the rest of the gang and how they took it. The next one will be better I promise :) As always thanks to all who read and review, I love hearing your feed back and it makes me smile knowing there are those of you out there who look forward to my posts :)**


	6. Chapter 6: Acknowledgment

**So not much new to add up here tonight. Just got chapter 5 up figured I'd try and do some work on number six before I head to bead... we'll see if it gets finished or not lol. Hope your all enjoying it thus far, this chapter will hopefully bring some of the feels back. Still not to sure how I want to end this fic yet so feel free to let me know if you'd prefer to see one thing over another after reading this part.**

**Once again I remain merely a user and not an owner TBBT... sad face**

Chapter 6: Acknowledgment

It wasn't until late in the night that anything of importance happened. Everyone had remained at the hospital waiting for any news on their friend and most had fallen asleep. Only Sheldon had not been able to find any sense of comfort as his friend could be dying on the other side of those doors.

Being the only one awake, he was the first to see the male nurse entering the waiting room. Quickly and quietly Sheldon was able to rouse the group for whatever news he might be bringing them.

Penny woke rubbing the sleep from her eyes. It had not been a comfortable nap. Leonard constantly flitted through her dreams reminding her of the pain she'd face when she awoke. And now it seemed that, that pain could be upon her.

"I assume then your the group waiting on a Mr. Leonard Hofstadter?" the nurse asked the group. They responded with a few shallow head nods, everyone too nervous to speak.

"Well then I'll get right to the point," the nurse continued sitting down in the midst of the gang. "I have good news and bad news," he started, "first it seems your friend is going to pull through. He lost a lot of blood and we had to remove his damaged kidney but after several blood transplants and careful surgery we seemed to have stopped all internal bleeding."

There was a pause as he allowed what he had said to sink in. Leonard would live! The gang visibly relaxed and Penny let out a little moan of sympathy, still not wanting to let herself get caught up before the nurse could finish speaking.

The nurse continued then, "the bad news is that when the bullet exited out his lower back it took a small part of his spine with it. It was only a grazing injury since it had ricocheted off of one of his ribs but it severed several nerve endings on its path." The nurse paused again, "as of right now Mr. Hofstadter is paralyzed from the waist down."

Penny didn't know what to think, she didn't know what to say. Leonard, _her _Leonard... no her _Hero_ was going to be okay! She was going to get to feel his touch again, get to feel his arms around her, she was going to be able to tell him how much she loved him. But paralyzed? What did that mean? Was he gonna be stuck in a wheel chair now? Like forever? The thought scared her more than she wanted to admit.

The nurse continued on again since no had started to speak up yet, "its hard to say at this point but since the bullet only skimmed the more vital areas we may be able to save his legs, it is still to early to tell however. We want to allow his body more time to heal before we attempt any more major surgeries so we know he will be able to handle it. We are going to keep him under for the time being so we can monitor his fluid intake and heart rate as he adjusts to only having one kidney."

The doctor rose to his feet then. "I suggest you guys head home and get some sleep, I assure you Leonard is in good hands, but I'm afraid he won't be see-able for a couple days." He had done his part and prepared to return to the back. It had been a long night for sure.

Those last words however stirred something in Penny giving her reason to speak now after so long. "Wait, please," she choked out as she stood to follow the doctor. "Please, I need to see him, just let me look at him, anything!" She was practically yelling by the time she finished her sentence.

Her passion had taken the nurse by surprise and he found himself backing away from the young woman's fury. There was something else behind those teary eyes though. Something that spoke to the nurse, compassion. Hidden behind the makeup smudged face and misty eyes was a love that the nurse could never refuse.

He sighed once before saying, "I really shouldn't, your boyfriend is unconscious and needs his rest right now."

Penny wasn't hearing it and she wasn't leaving without getting to look at the man she loved. Apparently this showed in her face because she didn't even have to respond before the man continued, "but I'll make an exception this once, if its only you and you promise to make it fast."

She nodded her consent quickly to scared to talk, glanced back at her friends and offered an attempted smile before following the nurse through the double doors to the back.

It didn't take long for them to find Leonard's room. The nurse stopped outside and unlocked the door. He cracked it open and motioned for Penny to enter, "5 minutes," he said as she crossed the threshold and he closed the door behind her.

Penny looked back as she heard the door click shut behind her. She was alone. The room was dimly lit but she could make out the bed in the center by the moonlight shining in through the window.

As she followed the outline of the bed she saw him. "Oh Leonard," she breathed as she moved closer to him. He looked so peaceful lying comfortably in the bed. She couldn't see any of his injuries under the blankets and robe he had on. The only thing that suggested any problems were the hoses and cords that were connected to different parts of his body.

IV fluids and hear rate monitors decorated the area around him and there was a steady beep every time Leonard's heart beat inside his chest.

With tears in her eyes Penny approached the bed resting her hands on the protective railing to keep patients from falling out. She looked down at her love so quiet and tender all wrapped up. She didn't know what to say or if she should say anything at all. So instead she just thought. Thought about all the times they had shared, everything that had drawn her to him in the first place.

How was it less than twenty four hours they had been so happy. Laughing, wandering the fair, sharing cotton candy. Everything had been so peaceful so serene. But that was all taken so fast. It wasn't fair. She reached down and grasped his hand, tired and teary eyed she whispered, "I love you Leonard Hofstadter, I always have, and I always will." She bent and kissed his cheek.

The hear monitor started beeping faster then. Penny stepped back surprised. He didn't look any different, but the increase in pace and tone of the monitor clearly showed that Leonard's heart had started beating faster. Had he heard her, she wondered? Did he feel my touch? Penny didn't know.

She held his hand a bit longer as his heart rate subsided. Knowing her time had to be up she squeezed his hand once more and got up to leave. "I love you," she said one more time, "I really hope you know that."

With tears in her eyes she exited the room, thanked the nurse graciously and turned to walk back to her friends.

**I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter. It took me a little while to write since I didn't really know what I wanted to do about Leonard and his injuries. Still not sure which direction I'm going to take but they say the keyboard has a mind of its own sometimes so I guess we'll see. As I said before feel free to comment with any ideas, suggestions, or criticism, I love hearing it!**


	7. Chapter 7: Comfort

**So I'm sitting in class right now and find myself bored so lets see what we can do on Chapter 7 here. Hope everyone is enjoying the story thus far, I know I haven't really been focusing on the interaction between Penny and the rest of the gang but that is kinda my point. Everyone is scared and talking about would kind of only make it worse I think, especially for Penny. Shes finally come to realize she loves Leonard right as she might lose him, the last thing she wants is to hear everyone telling how it will all be okay when in reality it might not be.**

Chapter 7: Comfort

The ride home was extremely taxing on Penny. She had left Leonard's room, offered a quick apology to her friends for freaking out, and nearly sprinted out of the hospital. She couldn't take it anymore, being there and not knowing what was happening, not knowing how it would all work out.

She was tired, she was sore, and she felt thought if she cried anymore her body would run out of fluid. Unfortunately, sitting alone in Leonard's car on the ride home did little to calm her down. She could feel him in everything, the indent he left in the driver seat, the worn out spots on the steering wheel where his hands had continuously rubbed the leather down, even having to adjust the seat to fit her body had brought tears to her eyes.

Why did it hurt so much? Leonard was going to be okay! He was going to pull through. But would he ever be the same? The doctor said he didn't know if her boyfriend would be able to walk again. What would that mean? With four flights of stairs and no elevator in their apartment complex would he have to move? Where would he go?

The thoughts racing through her head were hardly a help and she didn't want to think about it. It was just to hard to get her mind clear.

She sped home as fast as she dared driving through the streets of Pasadena at nearly 3:30 in the morning. Penny parked the car and raced up the stairs to her apartment, slamming the door behind she collapsed against it.

She allowed the tears to flow once again as she thought of a life with a crippled Leonard. She would not leave him, never that. How could she after what he had given up for her? But what would happen? Would they ever be able to start a family? What would happen to Leonard if he wasn't able to give that to her? How would he feel? She wouldn't care, she knew that but would he? It was too much for her to take.

She rose and went to the kitchen finding a bottle of wine. She didn't care about finding a glass she just popped the cork and raised the bottle to her mouth. Then she saw it.

Sitting in her lone green chair, tossed aside after one of their dates, was a sweatshirt Leonard had offered her when she said she was cold. It was gray and still had his favorite vest worn over it. Penny approached it carefully almost afraid it would rear up and strike her.

Suddenly and without conscious thought she placed the bottle down and grasped the sweatshirt in both hands shoving it into her face. It still smelled like him. Without thinking she quickly threw it on, wrapping her arms around her body she imagined Leonard hugging her instead of just the sweatshirt. The thought made her smile. The first time she had since the incident occurred.

With the thought of her love in her mind, Penny decided she didn't need the wine. Leaving the bottle on the table she layed down on the couch wrapping the warm sweatshirt around her she allowed herself to drift off to sleep.

She thought about going to her bed but lying alone in such a large empty space scared her and the couch allowed her a sense of comfort, a sense of security she was sure she would not be able to find in a bed as big as hers.

**So I know I'm going back and forth on lengths here but hey some chapters need more description than others I guess. I know I'm sure there are still a lot of questions as too what actually happened during the big scene as to where Kurt is, etc. Don't worry I haven't forgotten and I have a plan already, all will be explained in time :) As always thanks for reading and all criticisms and suggestions are welcome!**


	8. Chapter 8: Time

**I'm having tons of fun writing this fic and am loving all the feedback I'm getting. That's probably the reason I find myself writing so much so fast. I want to get this down on paper and get it out there for you guys to read. So as always thank you for reading and thank you for reviewing :) **

**Still haven't been able to save enough money to buy TBBT but I'm working on it! Don't own squat as of yet though :(**

Chapter 8: Time

It had been a long and trying three days. Penny had took the first off from work not wanting to be around too many people in the state she was in. This turned out to be a bad idea for her however. Home and alone she found there was no way to get Leonard off her mind. She was scared, she was, hurt and she was alone.

She quickly changed tactics trying to be at work as much as possible. At work she found she was able to keep her mind busy. When the restaurant was crowded she was able to focus on work and keep her head clear... for the most part. Always in the back of her mind was that fear. That human instinct to be scared of the unknown.

Not knowing what was happening was the worst party Penny decided. She had tried calling the hospital but all they had said was they were waiting to try the spinal nerve repairing surgery. They wanted to make sure his body would be able to handle the delicate procedure they wanted to try.

Penny felt alone in a dark and scary world. Her friends had tried to comfort her, offered to spend the nights with her, invited her out to dinner, all the things friends were supposed to do. She loved how supportive they were, what amazing friends she had found through meeting Leonard and Sheldon that day she moved into the apartment.

But after everything they tried she still found a whole in her heart that she knew could only be filled by finding herself in Leonard's arms. Whether that meant she had to sit on his lap in a wheelchair, or if her was standing after a successful surgery she didn't care. Penny just wanted to feel his touch again. Was that to much to ask?

It wasn't until day four that Penny finally heard something that she could take as good news. It was late, she had just gotten home from work and had barely collapsed onto her couch when there was a knock on her door.

_Knock Knock Knock _"Penny!"

_Knock Knock Knock _"Penny!"

_Knock Knock Knock _"Penny!"

She sighed as she pulled herself off the couch to the door. "What is it Sheldon?" She asked pulling open her door.

"Well, hello to you too," Sheldon responded.

"What do you want," Penny asked clearly not amused.

"The hospital called," Sheldon stated simply.

The change over Penny was instantaneous. "Oh sweetie, I'm sorry, come in, I've just been so stressed."

"Naturally," said Sheldon crossing the threshold. "I admit, your emotional attachment to a homunculus such as Leonard has baffled me for some time, but since it seems that's what you two share your responses seem to fit the norm considering his current condition."

"Sheldon, what did they say," Penny asked impatiently before he could get off onto some kind of rant about her relationship.

"Oh yes of course," Sheldon said, "the doctor said that Leonard will be undergoing his surgery tomorrow at noon, they are going to be attempting a new form of stem cell experimentation to see if they can jump start his nerves into regrowing into their correct locations."

Penny just stared, the only part of that sentence she had understood was "surgery tomorrow." She looked blankly at Sheldon, "what does that mean?" she asked frantically.

"Well since this is not my field of study it is hard to explain," he began. "I did some research before you arrived and it seems that the nerves in the body that transmit signals to and from the brain have the ability to grow and repair themselves when they become damaged, however, since the nerves in Leonard's spine have been completely severed they need to do something to get them growing in the right places and the correct lengths."

He paused making sure that Penny was following, "it would seem that this new stem cell research has provided reasonable levels of success in other patients suffering from similar injuries. We will be able to visit him tomorrow night if you wish regardless of how it turns out."

Penny fell back onto her couch. _This is it_, she thought. Whatever happens is going to happen tomorrow. What could be the biggest change to her life would be occuring in less than 24 hours. It suddenly became very real and Penny got very scared.

Not wanting to upset Sheldon she put on a placid face, gave him a small smile and said, "thank you Sheldon, I can drive us over after I finish my lunch shift if you want."

"That was what I was hoping to ask," Sheldon responded, "but since you have already offered I think that sounds perfect." He gave one of his creepy smiles that always made Penny cringe.

"Sounds good," Penny said fighting back an uncontrollable giggle at Sheldon's continuing attempt at comfort.

"Good," Sheldon stated, "now if you'll excuse me I wish to return to my research." With that he turned and left.

Penny fell back to the couch letting out a moan of fear she had been suppressing in front of Sheldon. She pulled Leonards sweatshirt from its usual spot on the chair and tugged it on. She had taken to wearing it every night as a way to try and bring peace to her mind. It helped... but only a little.

Whatever happened tomorrow was the way it was going to be... _Tomorrow_, Penny thought. _It all comes down to tomorrow._

**So I actually did some research for this chapter as far as possible cures and the ways doctors deal with spinal injuries and this stem cell project is a new and seemingly effective. However, it is not perfect so we'll just have to wait for the next update to see what happens with everyone's favorite experimental physicist. Also, I apologize if I didn't portray Sheldon very accurately. Hes a difficult character to write for but I did my best. And as always thanks to any and all who read and review :)**


	9. Chapter 9: Outcome

**So here it is. The chapter where we learn what happens to Leonard! (For the most part) This however, is not the last chapter as you'll most likely be able to tell by the way it ends. That being said, my next few days will be a bit busier with work and stuff so if I am able to update it will likely only be one chapter a night... or in this case early morning. Hope you enjoy and as always thanks for reading :)**

**Still don't own jack**

Chapter 9: Outcome

The waiting room was busy today. Far busier than it had been on their first visit at least. Penny sat in a corner of the waiting room surrounded by her closest friends in a waiting room full of people also waiting on loved ones. So why did she feel so alone?

The gang sat in silence, what was there to talk about? Hopes? Wishes that Leonard would be okay? What would that do in the end? Penny thought, what happens, happens regardless of how much we may want it to go one way or the other.

_That must be it_ Penny realized. The whole, the emptiness she had been feeling was her fear of not knowing what would happen. That fear of not knowing if her boyfriend would ever be able to stand on his own again. Realizing this however, did not make it easier.

Silent tears rolled down her cheeks as she thought of the man she loved confined to a chair for the rest of his life. _That wouldn't happen,_ she thought, _the doctors will make everything right._ _No one who makes that kind of sacrifice should have to suffer._

Again these thoughts did little to comfort her.

Penny pulled Leonard's hoodie tighter around her and took Bernadette's hand wanting someone, anyone to hold on to. She smiled down at the small blonde when she looked up. The tears in Penny's eyes told her all she needed to know as she squeezed her hand.

"It's going to be okay," Bernadette whispered trying to offer any kind of encouragement to her pained friend.

At the first sign of communication however, Sheldon perked up, "oh, I agree," he said almost too cheerily. "The research I've doing has shown that nearly 85% of patients who experiment with stem cells show signs of expansive positive growth."

"Sheldon, now might not be the time to turn into a walking Snapple cap, okay?" Howard whispered.

"Just making conversation," Sheldon muttered hanging his head.

Silence returned to the gang as they all hung their heads. Each quietly prayed to whatever God or other form of deity they may have believed in to keep their friend okay.

Time didn't really seem to exist in the waiting room. There was no clock and no one wanted to check their phones. They had been waiting what felt like hours after arriving at the hospital at 4 pm. No one was sure what was taking so long. Leonard had gone into surgery on schedule at noon so the group had hoped by arriving later they wouldn't have to wait as long. It seemed they had still arrived to early.

Penny was nervous, she was tired, and she was sick of waiting. So when the nurse finally came through the doors and approached the group she was unable to control her emotions.

"Yes we're here for Leonard!" She blurted before the young woman could even ask. Penny looked down apologetically immediately afterwords. "Sorry," she muttered, "just please tell me he's okay."

"I understand," the nurse smiled sweetly. She looked down at her clipboard briefly before continuing, "there were a few minor complications during surgery which lead to the increase in estimated duration. We were however, able to partially reattach the damaged nerve endings in his spine."

There was a pause as those words sunk in to the gang. Relief was etched clearly on their faces. "That being said," the nurse continued, "the connections are far from perfect and still extremely fragile, it could take up to 18 months before they are able to grow back to full health."

"So you mean, hes going to be okay, right?" Howard asked kind of awkwardly.

The nurse smiled again, "yes it seems now the only thing your friend will need is time."

Penny visibly relaxed, her shoulders slumped, and she let out the breath she had been holding since the nurse started talking. _Leonard was going to be okay! _her mind screamed at her, _but soon?_

It took a second for Penny to find her voice but she asked, "so what does that mean exactly?... I mean what happens now... for us?"

"Well," the nurse started, "he'll have to remain in the hospital for at least a week before his fit to travel, then we will transport him to a recovery center where he will be able to undergo weekly physical therapy. His injuries are to delicate to allow him to leave our care and risk causing permanent damage."

Questions quickly filled Penny's mind. "How long will he be there? Will I be able to see him? Can we see him now?" She started breathing quickly again, she wanted to see him, wanted to feel him again. "Please, just can we see him?"

The nurse once again put on that same sweet smile and offered, "he's in a rest and recovery room right now, I doubt he's awake yet but I can bring you to him and you can be there when he wakes up."

The soft, sympathetic look plastered on Penny's tear riddled face was all the answer she needed before saying, "this way."

And with that, the gang followed the nurse through the double doors to where they would find they're injured friend.

**So there we go. Decided to kinda play the silver lining with this story. Yea he'll be okay, but how long will it take and what trials will he and the rest of the gang face getting there? Who knows ;) Like I said this is NOT the last chapter, it just may be a bit before I can get the next update in. Gotta busy weekend ahead unfortunately, I would much rather be writing obvi. But since I like putting in both at the top and bottom, thanks for reading and all the reviews! I love hearing all your comments both the good and the bad!**


	10. Chapter 10: Reentry

**Sorry I wasn't able to get anything posted yesterday or earlier today. Been crazy with work and classes and stuff, hopefully things will be a little easier here on out. This chapter should be a good read, was a little hard to write but I think it serves its purpose well. The upcoming chapter is the one to look for ;) Enjoy and as always thanks for reading, following, or favoriting!**

Chapter 10: Reentry

The room was smaller than the one Leonard had been in before but cozy. At least for a room where patients were sent to recover from a variety of injuries or illness's. The thought made Penny wonder just how many others had shared the bed that Leonard's unconscious form now occupied. She sho away the images in her head and took her lovers hand, squeezing gently hoping he would wake up and hug her.

Penny was seated in the only chair the room offered, she had pulled it directly next to the bed and lowered the safety rail designed to keep patients from rolling off so she could hold Leonard's hand easier. The rest of the group milled around the edges of the room trying to stay comfortable.

But it was late, everyone was exhausted, and Penny wasn't surprised when Sheldon suggested they might want to head home and try again tomorrow.

"The anesthetics they gave him are obviously going to leave him in this state for some time," Sheldon was saying, "if we come back tomorrow the odds of him actually being able to communicate with us will be exponentially higher."

Penny couldn't really hold it against them when the others seemed to agree. It was late after all, they had been in the hospital nearly 6 hours and little had changed. Save for getting to sit with Leonard instead of in the waiting room.

"You coming, Penny?" Bernadette asked as the group slowly meandered towards the door.

Penny looked up and tried to speak but coughed as she tried to form words. She cleared her throat as she realized she had barely spoken since they had been there, "no," she tried again, "I think I'm just gonna wait a little longer."

Bernadette looked worried, "Penny, you need sleep, and a bed is going to do you far better than that chair."

The blonde haired beauty just shook her head, she could be so stubborn some times. Bernadette moved closer to her putting a hand on her shoulder, she started to speak but stepped back as Penny stood up.

"Listen," she said turning to her friends, she needed them to understand. "I know your trying to help but please just think about this. If our places had been reversed, if I was lying on this bed with a whole in my stomach and who knows what chance of walking again do you think he would leave?" she asked pointing to her fallen boyfriend. "Do you think Leonard would have left the hospital at all?"

Penny pulled Bernadette into a hug and continued, "I need to stay, but I promise I'll be okay." The smaller blonde just nodded, tears in her eyes she stepped back and took Howard's.

"Call us if anything happens, anything at all," he said as the group slowly made their way through the door.

Just like that Penny found herself alone. Alone with the man who had saved her life but at so much self sacrifice. Would he ever be the same? How would he react when he woke up and understood the condition he was in? The thoughts were a little more than frightening to her, she just hoped everything would be okay.

She moved back to her chair, took Leonard's hand in her own again, and layed her head down on her arms on the side of his bed. She blinked once, and let the tears she had been fighting back roll down her face.

It was late... or was it early? Penny couldn't tell, she had been flitting in and out of consciousness for what seemed like hours trying to get a little sleep. That changed however, when she felt something brush the top of her head.

She yelped and sat straight up in her chair, that yelp of surprised turned to a cry of joy when she realized that the eyes of the man in front of her were open. He was looking at her!

"Leonard!" Penny shrieked as she practically jumped on him and wrapped her arms around him.

He lent out a grunt of pain as her weight touched his wounds. "Sorry," she muttered shifting slightly, but not releasing her hold.

"I—just—love-you-so-much," she said, alternating ever word with a kiss.

Leonard smiled as their lips met, "Penny," he tried saying but she was too preoccupied. "Penny," he repeated a little louder, "I need to breath," he coughed out her strangle hold starting to suffocate him.

"Sorry," Penny said again, taking one of his hands and rubbing it against her face. "I've just been so scared."

She watched as Leonard used his free hand to lift his shirt slightly so he could look at the bandage that was covering his stomach and a large part of his side.

He closed his eyes as the fuzzy memories cleared and came rushing to the forefront of his mind.

_Kurt waving a gun._

_The weapon pointing at Penny._

_Sprinting towards her, he had to save her._

_Yelling to draw his attention._

_Shoving Penny out of the way as the gun went off._

_Feeling the pain as his stomach opened up._

_His eyes closing as another gunshot rang out._

Leonard's eyes sprang open as he whirled on Penny. "Are you okay? What happened? There was another gunshot! Why did Kurt have a gun? What is going on Penny?"

The questions continued but Penny couldn't follow. The only one that had stuck in her mind was _Are you okay?_ Here he was, lying in a hospital bed, paralyzed from the waist down, with a bandage the size of Kentucky covering his stomach and Leonard's first thought was for her safety.

Tears filled Penny's eyes as she looked down at the most amazing man she had ever met, "that's a lot of questions sweetie," she started. "Would you like me to answer them all at once, or one at a time," she smiled.

**Okay so this chapter didn't go exactly as I imagined it. There was a lot more to put in about the group leaving and Leonard waking up than I thought. I promise next chapter will be the one that explains what happened and why and all that good stuff. This one ended up being a bit of filler which I apologize for but it was necessary. Hope your enjoying and again, thank you to all who read, comment, or follow :)**


	11. Chapter 11: Clarity

**Before I start I just want to send out a really big thank you for all the wonderful reviews I've received. It really means a lot to read them and to see that you guys really do enjoy some of my writing. I started this as a way to kind of let off some of the extra emotions that I've had racing through my head but as I continue I find myself writing more and more for you guys! Thanks so much for sticking with it and here is hopefully a chapter we've been waiting for. :)**

Chapter 11: Clarity

"Forget about me for a second," Leonard said, when Penny started talking about his injuries. "I want to know what happened at the fair. Why was Kurt there? What did he want? And who did he shoot after me?"

Penny sighed, it was not going to be an easy topic to discuss, but she owed him that much to say the least. She took a deep breath to compose her self and stated simply, "Kurt was there because he was an idiot."

Leonard raised an eyebrow. "That doesn't really tell me anything I didn't know," he said half laughing. He stopped though when it caused pain to rack through his sides.

Penny put a hand on his stomach and continued, "he was drunk, he was depressed, and he was claiming I still owed him money from when were together."

Leonard looked confused, "that doesn't really make sense," he stated. "I thought he was the one who owed you money and we took care of that... I mean you took care of that," he corrected quickly, still not wanting to give away he had gone and talked to the big ogre about it.

Penny raised an eyebrow at him, "we?" she asked. "Nothing, never mind," Leonard responded quickly, "continue."

She looked unconvinced but kept going, "I think he was just jealous to be honest, he was mad that I still haven't taken him back despite his numerous attempts and he didn't like seeing me with someone else... especially someone like you."

Leonard looked nervous, "like me?" he asked.

"You know, opposite of him... Small, smart, and actually cares about what I think," she smiled at him.

"Oh okay," he started, "I thought you were gonna say-"

"Say what?" Penny interrupted, "Nerd? Cause I thought that was a given." She stuck her tongue out at him playfully.

"As long as you don't forget it," he shot back pulling her down for a kiss.

They broke apart and Leonard continued, "okay, so Kurt's crazy, I get shot, then what? I know I heard another shot, did he miss? I don't see how when he was so close."

Penny took a second to compose her thoughts and said, "no, he didn't miss... he wasn't even the one to pull the trigger."

Leonard just looked confused again. Before he could open his mouth to speak though Penny continued, "there was an off duty cop at the fair with us that day, it took him a while to figure out what was going on I guess but after you got shot and we both ended up on the ground it gave him the opening he needed I guess cause," she paused here as tears started to build around her eyes, "that was all she wrote."

"So you mean he's like-" Leonard started but found himself unable to finish, the words stuck in his throat.

Penny just nodded as the tears started dripping down her face. Leonard took her hand and pulled her closer to him so she was sitting on the bed. He hated not being able to hold her.

"Penny, I'm so sorry," he said simply.

She looked surprised at his words. "What? Don't apologize, he shot you, he almost killed you!"

"That doesn't mean I wanted him dead," he paused and thought about that sentence, "if he had hurt you, I may have made that happen but as it stands does it's far from my first choice of solution."

Penny smiled at him through her tear soaked eyes, "your such a good guy Leonard, do you know that?"

He smiled back and leaned in to kiss her. As they separated his next question came to his mind.

"Okay, so that explains what happened, but how long have I been here and why," he poked himself in the thigh a few times, "can't I feel my legs?"

The glistening smile vanished from Penny's face as the words left his mouth. Leonard could tell it was bad and talking about it wasn't going to be easy so he continued. "I kind of deduced I'm paralyzed... how bad is it? Is there any other damage?"

He grasped her hand as he saw her falter slightly, letter her know it would be okay. She took a deep breath to steady herself and started, "okay lets start with the easy stuff, the bullet deflected off one of you lower ribs, that's probably why it hurts to laugh."

She paused as she looked into Leonard's eyes, she could see in them that no matter what the next words out of her mouth were he wouldn't care. He had already accepted whatever had happened to him because she, Penny, was okay. That look, the one she had seen on his face right before he took the bullet instead of her was back, that look of true love. He had given his body and nearly his life for her and he didn't care, he was happy about it.

A small cry escaped her lips as she realized this and he quickly pulled her down to the bed fully so they were both laying together cramped on the tiny hospital bed. Neither cared, they were in each others arms, the safest place in the world.

"Shh shh," Leonard was saying, "its going to be okay, just tell me what else."

Penny wiped her eyes and started to continue, "when the bullet bounced off your ribs it kinda hit a kidney," she paused before adding, "they had to remove it." She waited for a response.

He smiled, "okay see, that's not so bad, lots of people have one kidney, some are even born that way."

Leonard was so positive, she knew that no matter what the next words out of her mouth he would just smile and say "okay." It only made it harder as she had to tell him the worst part.

"Sweetie, the last part, I know you know your paralyzed but its not a guarantee forever kinda thing. The doctors preformed some kinda cell surgery or something I don't know, Sheldon can explain it, but it means that the nerves in your spine can and should grow back over time."

Leonard didn't even blink as she told him... _total acceptance_, she thought, _what have I done to deserve a guy like this?_

"See," he said finally, "I'm going to be fine, it'll just take a little time that's all, did they say how long?"

"Umm, like six to eighteen months I think, or something like that," Penny said trying to remember.

"Well then," Leonard said pulling her closer, "I'll just have to make sure I have you to keep me company." He smiled as he leaned his face in and kissed her.

"Leonard," Penny said pulling back slightly, "you know I love you right?"

"What," he asked looking shocked for the first time. "Of course I do, where did that come from?"

"I don't know," Penny admitted, "When I was scared of losing you I was worried I hadn't made that clear enough," tears started to form in her eyes for what must have been the thousandth time that week.

"Hey," he said trying to comfort her, "believe me I know," he kissed her again. "And I want you to know that I would take a hundred more injuries like this one if it kept you from suffering one."

"I know you would," Penny said smiling through teary eyes, "but I wouldn't want you too."

"And that's exactly why I would," Leonard retorted as Penny snuggled up to him, her head on his chest.

He wrapped his arm around her, holding her close, as they both closed their eyes and drifted back to sleep enjoying each others warmth in what had been far too long.

**So there we have it. What happened at the fair. I hope we liked the way it played out... it was kinda hard to give a reason for Kurt to be there the way he was so I went with a scene I went through when one of our families lawn care guys tried to break into my house claiming we owned money or something IDK I was little. Any who, still not sure how long this is going to be but I have several ideas for chapters while Leonard is recovering. The beauty of a story like this is that I can go on for as long as I want to really. If Leonard ever fully recovers who knows there could even be some smart/beautiful babies down the line. Who knows? I just play messenger as the characters come alive :)**

**As always thank you so much to all who read and keep my spirits up. Your reviews are some of the brightest parts of my day!**


	12. Chapter 12: Reunion

**This chapter was a little difficult to write. Its kind of a necessary filler in between Leonard being in the hospital and his trip to the recovery center. It was fun to write though because it was basically the first time I got to write dialogue for the whole gang in the same scene. Hope you enjoy and forgive me for the basic lack of anything really happening.**

Chapter 12: Reunion

Both Leonard and Penny were awakened by the bright lights as a doctor entered the room and turned on the light directly over the bed. Both blinked rapidly trying to clear the spots from their eyes as the doctor pulled the blinds letting the sun flood the room.

"I'm sorry, its against hospital policy for you to be in bed with a patient," the doctor was saying. Penny sat up trying to extricate her self from Leonard's side, both still blinded by the lights.

"Sorry," Leonard responded rubbing his eyes, "it was my fault, I needed the comfort when I woke up this morning."

The doctor nodded knowingly, "I can imagine, you've suffered quite the ordeal. Leonard just nodded as he pulled on his glasses and got his first real look around the room.

It was small, little in it but his bed, a stand with a few drawers, a tv on top, and a door he assumed lead to a bathroom.

Leonard shifted his gaze to the doctor She was a small woman, he guessed middle aged. Years of experience sat behind her eyes as she was preparing kind of instrument.

She started speaking before he could ask, "Now that your awake we need a blood sample, simple drawing really, we just need to make sure everything has gone smoothly with the operation and your bodies adjustment to only having one kidney."

Leonard blanched, he knew what they meant and knew what it was the doctor was preparing. A needle. He hated needles, "umm, is there any chance you can put me back in a coma and then do that?" It sounded like a joke but the serious look on Leonard's face left the doctor unsure if she should laugh or not.

Penny chuckled and interlaced her fingers with his left hand. "Sweetie look at me," she said, "it's going to be fine."

She nodded at the doctor who started preparing Leonard's right arm, trying off his bicep to get the proper pressure, swabbing his arm to protect for infection, all the good stuff that came with getting a shot.

Penny stared into her lovers eyes, she could see the fear behind them and she put her free hand on his face to steady him. _He really hates needles, _she thought, _imagine him getting a tattoo. _ The thought had her thinking of Leonard with some crazy skull tattoo, or fiery beast inked somewhere on his body. The thought nearly made her laugh out loud.

Leonard looked at her confused and scared. "I'll tell you later," she whispered as she leaned in and kissed him full in the mouth, right as the doctor pushed the needle into his arm. Leonard inhaled sharply but aside from that didn't flinch as Penny held the kiss longer and more passionately.

"Wow," he muttered, pulling back just enough to talk. "You need to come to the doctors with me more often."

Penny could feel him smiling, there faces were so close. It still amazed her that with everything that had happened he seemed so at ease. She smiled back and leaned in for another kiss.

It didn't take long before the rest of the group came bounding through the door. Penny had sent a text to Bernadette and Amy when the doctor left shortly after collecting Leonard's blood. The couple had a little time to relax and enjoy each others company before being assailed by there friends.

There was a plethora of hugs, kisses, and "your gonna be okay!'s" before everyone was able to settle down. Leonard looked up at all his smiling friends standing around his bed, his smile widened as Penny took his hand sharing the wonderful moment of them all together again.

The moment was ruined somewhat when Howard spoke up, "if it works for everyone I say we skip the sad parts and get right to this is funny, I'll start." _Uh oh,_ Leonard thought. "Leonard, they said you would hopefully be able to walk soon, I sure hope you _wheel_!"

There was stunned silence for a moment before Raj lost it, the gang turned to him as he was slipping the flask he had snuck in back into his jacket, "Howard, wheelchair jokes really? I can't _stand_ those!" This time all the guys joined in laughter as the girls looked on still shocked at what they were hearing.

Even Sheldon joined in the fun, "oh you guys are on a _roll!_" They lost it again, even Leonard was in on it, what could expect with the friends he had? He did put a hand on his stomach and call for quite at that point though. "Okay, okay very amusing, but if I keep laughing like this I think my rib is gonna break again."

A few chuckles escaped Raj and Howard's lips so Bernadette frankly knocked em both on the back of their heads. "Hey," the yelped in unison, "I saw you chuckling over there," Howard added. Bernadette blushed and looked away.

Amy stepped up next, "we are really glad your okay Leonard, ooo this is so romantic, risking your life to save the girl you love, just like in the movies!" she had practically started squealing by the end.

Leonard and Penny both just rolled their eyes at there filter free friends. Sheldon spoke up then producing what appeared to be a large packet and dropped it n Leonard's stomach. He let out an "ouf" as it hit, it was surprisingly heavy.

"Sheldon, what the heck is this," he asked expecting some kind of new clause in the roommate agreement that dealt with him being in a wheelchair.

"That is three nights worth of in depth research concerning both living with one kidney and stem cell research," he said proudly. "Living with one kidney is a surprisingly common occurrence in today's society and most are able to deal with it quite easily. You'll have to reduce your consumption of proteins for now while your body adjusts to only having the one kidney to break them down."

The gang was just staring now but Sheldon appeared in no way close to being done. "You should also find it interesting that over time as your remaining kidney has to work harder it can increase in size by as much as 40%... all on its own!"

Penny wiped her face with a hand before interrupting, "are you done yet crazy?" Sheldon stopped and stared for a moment, when he started to speak Penny raised a hand. "We know, we know, you were tested your not crazy." Sheldon glared.

Bernadette reached over and put a hand on Penny's shoulder she was about to say something when Sheldon spit out, "it would also be beneficial for you to know that 84.67 percent of all patients who have experimented with stem cell procedures have seen at least a 50 percent recovery rate."

The gang looked back to him for a moment, he was breathing heavy and clearly agitated. _Oh how he hates not getting to finish_, Penny chuckled to herself.

Leonard looked around at his friends, here they were all supporting him. Standing by his side in what could have easily been a depressing and sad moment, keeping his spirits high. Laughing, joking, taking stabs at each other. It was like nothing had changed.

At least until Leonard looked down and noticed he was unconsciously tapping his thigh with his right hand. He hadn't noticed because he couldn't feel it. He let out a silent sigh, _how long would it take?_ He wondered.

**Here's chapter 12! Hope you liked it at least a little bit haha. It was actually a lot tougher to write than anticipated, that's why its coming so late. Like I said up top this was just supposed to get us from the hospital into a place where I can get to the recovery center which I think will be in the next chapter. Also I haven't really been focusing on dates too much but that will likely also be addressed in the coming chapters so we can see how this injury affects leonard and the gang through some big name events, like holidays and all that fun stuff :) As always thank you to my dedicated readers, and to those of you who comment on every chapter (you know who you are ;) your the best, your reviews are what keep bringing me to my computer!**


	13. Chapter 13: First Step

**Sorry for the little delay between postings its finals week and I've been crazy busy trying to get ready for tests and essays and all that fun stuff. Any ways I'm going to start putting the story into context a little bit in terms of dates because I have some fun ideas for certain important days in the future :) Here's chapter 13 so I hope u all enjoy and as always thanks for all the reviews and love!**

**Also still don't own any of these characters unfortunately...**

Chapter 13: First steps

September 10th 2012

_The journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step_, that's what Leonard had always heard, had always been taught. But what happens when your body physically can't take that first step?

He had been in the recovery center for exactly one month now after being cleared from the hospital. Leonard had spent two weeks there in total, the doctors had insisted on a week of what they called "observation" time. This way they would be able to keep an eye on his surgeries and make sure everything took.

Since then Leonard had moved to his new home. It wasn't terrible really, a large building modified to accommodate numerous handicapped or otherwise disabled persons. It reminded him of a hotel kind of; front desk to check in, numerous hallways full of rooms, even crazy cleaning ladies.

Leonard looked around his room, it was small and simple but fairly homy. He had gotten a single room, so it had a twin bed in the center, a small white dresser in the corner with a smaller TV on it, and a bureau for any clothes that needed hangers. Anything beyond that Leonard had to supply.

It hadn't take the guys long to want to get him all set up. One look at the place and Sheldon, Howard, and Raj had put there heads together and found a way to create "optimal efficiency" (as Sheldon put it)in the room.

His bed had been pushed into the corner (with Leonard still on it!) the dresser and TV shoved into the opposite corner facing the bed, and the bureau left next to the door cause none of the guys, or any combination of the guys could move it...

Then came the "upgrades." A nightstand was brought in by Raj so Leonard would have a place for his laptop next to the bed. Sheldon brought in a whiteboard on a stand that could be lowered to "wheelchair height" as he called it. And Howard followed with a plethora of novelty items from the apartment; action figures, posters, and toys to decorate the room and make it look like home.

Leonard's favorite room improvement however, came from Penny. Right above his bed she had hung a small bulletin board and tacked too it were dozens of photographs. Pictures of the whole gang covered the cork in a hazardous fashion displaying each of their faces numerous times.

He had almost cried as he watched her hang it up, but he couldn't hold it back now as he looked at it for what must have been the hundredth time that day. _Home_, this place felt like home, looked like home now, but it wasn't home.

Leonard longed to be back in the apartment, longed to truly wrap his arms around Penny, he wanted to stand, wanted to be able to get around with out being confined to a chair!

It was so frustrating and it had only been a month. The doctors hadn't known how long it would truly take or if he would even make a full recovery. Weekly scans were showing some minor growth within the nerves of his back but still, _Leonard poked himself in the thigh,_ nothing. He couldn't feel anything.

He sighed tearing his eyes away from the pictures. He looked around the room and it did little to comfort him. The whiteboard with a formula he had been calculating with Sheldon earlier, a hulk action figure next to the TV, the wonder woman poster near the door, every where he looked he saw his friends, saw his apartment, saw Penny.

How he missed her, missed them all. It was so different going to bed alone, not seeing the guys every day, having to have Penny sit on his lap to hug her. It was so much and had happened so fast. Leonard could feel himself getting frustrated, so many emotions racing through his head. He let out a grunt and slammed his fists down on his knees in anger.

_He froze._

Had he imagined it? A tingle? A sensation? No, he was angry and his mind was playing tricks on him. Hesitantly he poked his right thigh once, nothing. He poked harder, still nothing. He frowned. He had felt something he knew he had.

Leonard looked around the room once more. Maybe this home wasn't such a bad place. He smiled slightly as he lay back against his pillows.

His mind raced, he knew what he felt. But what had it been? A figment of his imagination? A single brain wave making its way down a newly connected nerve? A sensation caused emotional stress? He didn't care. Whatever it could be called scientifically, Leonard had a name for it... his first step.

**So kind of rushed and quick chapter here. I wanted to kind of explain the place leonard is staying and his room but tried to keep it interesting. The beginning of it is kind of tedious I know I'm sorry. Tried to bring some emotion back to the end. I know Leonard seems to be jumping around a lot emotionally but that's kind of the idea. Hes scared, hes alone, hes trying to cope with a lot right now and its taking its toll but as they say **

"**Be strong now because things will get better, it might be stormy now but it can't rain forever"**


	14. Chapter 14: Revelations

**So this is a sort of out of the blue chapter I thought of today. After receiving some positive feedback on my last chapter that dealt with Leonard's inner turmoil, I decided to try it out on Penny. It's the same night as chapter 13 simply from another perspective ;) Hope you enjoy it and as always thanks to all who read and review!**

**Still too poor to buy CBS so now props here...**

Chapter 14: Revelations

September 10th 2012

Penny tossed and turned in her bed. She couldn't sleep, she could never sleep any more. She rolled to her side and ran her hand across the space that Leonard used to fill. She sighed, it was cold... it was always cold now.

She rolled to her back staring at the blank ceiling of her apartment. Her mind wandered through the events of the past month and everything that had lead her to her emotionally exhausted state.

She felt alone. She needed someone to hold her, but there was only one person she wanted that to be. It wasn't fair.

Penny had been visiting Leonard at the clinic almost daily, but it wasn't enough. Not for either of them. She could feel it in every crouched hug, warm smile, and good bye kiss, that longing, that passion for more. A needed attraction that drives two souls together.

A single tear rolled down her cheek as she wondered when she'd be able to feel the warmth of his body against hers again on a cold night like this. The clinic wouldn't release Leonard for any extended length of time until he made what the doctors called "significant improvement."

She sighed again. It was what it was at this point. Leonard was suffering so that she didn't have to, or so that she could still breath at all. That thought crossed her mind, not for the first time that month. He had quite literally thrown himself in front of a bullet for her.

_He had to know the odds_, Penny had told herself._ He's freaking brilliant of course he knew the odds._ That meant Leonard had likely expected this or far worse and didn't care. Didn't hesitate to bear that burden so she wouldn't have to.

Penny thought back to that day at the fair. When the smoke cleared and both Kurt and Leonard were laying bloody in the field. She remembered sitting and holding Leonard's head in her lap waiting for the paramedics to arrive.

She was holding the gauze the police officer had procured to his wound and she was crying. Tears streaming freely down her face as she held the lifeless body of the man who she had thought gave his life for his.

How unworthy she felt. What had she done for him that had made him love her so much. It didn't seem fair, he had sacrificed so much for her over the past six years and she had given him so little. That would change, Penny knew. She had promised to make sure Leonard knew how she felt and she was going to make sure that happened.

She crawled out of bed and walked to the chair in the corner. She felt around the pile of clothes that had been hap-haphazardly tossed there till she felt it. Tugging through the pile she revealed the gray hoodie/vest combo that he left in her apartment so long ago.

Like she had done while he was in the hospital Penny snuggled herself up in Leonard's hoodie, she still hadn't washed it but it didn't matter. It still smelled like him. She smiled slightly as she wiped her eyes.

Sliding back into her bed, she reached into her nightstand and pulled out the velvet bag that held the snowflake Leonard had given her so long ago. Gently rubbing the soft material against her cheek Penny smiled again, it was as if she could feel him, like he was there.

She zipped the sweatshirt up around her and settled down into the pillows.

_It will be okay, _she thought.

Closing her eyes, Penny found herself in the calmest sleep she had experienced since the ordeal had started.

**So a little bit shorter, but just trying to capture some of Penny's emotions here. It's tough she can be a difficult character to write for sometimes because she tends to hide her feelings a lot. I hope I managed at least a little bit here. Let me know what you think and the next chapter should be up soon! It'll be a fun one with all the guys at the very least. :) thanks to all who've read!**


	15. Chapter 15: Surprise

**Here we are again! Time for another update! So we are at that stage where I'm going to take some liberty with the time frame. Its hard to write about every day that passes when one is stuck in a recovery home (for those who have visited them they aren't the most exciting of places). The next few chapters will be taking place with up too a few weeks between them. I'll be sure to date each one so we know where we are in the time line. Thanks as always for reading and a big double thanks to those who are continuously reviewing my work! It really does mean a lot! :)**

**Still haven't found a way to become the owner of these characters :(**

Chapter 15: Surprise

October 1st 2012

Leonard looked at his watch. It was 7:57pm which meant that the guys would be arriving in exactly 3 minutes if Sheldon had managed to keep them in line with his perfect schedule.

It was new comic book night and as had been the new custom, Sheldon, Raj, and Howard would visit Stewart at the comic book store and pick out the newest and freshest comics before swinging by the center to visit with Leonard and drop off his newest source of superhero entertainment.

Leonard grasped the wheels on either side of his chair and attempted to turn himself around, to face away from the white board and the equation he was working on. It took several seconds and a few struggled body twists to fully turn the chair around. _Jeez, a month and a half and I still can't figure out these damn chairs,_ Leonard thought chuckling. It was actually kind of nice sometimes, being able to sit back and relax if there was something pushing.

He sighed though, it certainly wasn't worth the cost.

Leonard hood the footsteps just outside the door before it opened.

"Well its officially started, we can finally start returning to a state of some manner or normality," Sheldon announced entering Leonard's room at the center. Howard and Raj trailed him into the room looking a bit sheepish. They had hoped to break the news a little softer.

"You know Leonard this whole you being injured fiasco has certainly had some serious ramifications on my life, everything has been in chaos for a month now!" Sheldon continued, "hopefully that will be able to end starting tomorrow."

Leonard started up at his tall friend visibly perplexed, "yea, I'm fine Sheldon thanks for asking," he leaned in his chair to look at Howard and Raj, "would you two mind explaining what hes talking about for me?"

Raj stepped forward with a flat brown paper bag clearly the days purchases from their trip to the store. He hesitantly placed it in Leonard's lap like he was offering a sacrifice. Leonard was about to comment on this when Howard started, "so we kinda decided that since Sheldon's been acting like such an anal nut bag this past month we would kinda stick Raj in there to live with him till you got better."

Leonard stared for a moment, "okay," he finally said, "that makes sense I guess." He thought about it for a moment, Sheldon was likely going nuts either trying to find rides to work or taking the bus, as well as dealing with getting to other every day places like the doctor or food shopping. Having someone else move in seemed like a logical conclusion to make.

Leonard smiled somewhat then, "I could be here for a while Raj are you sure you'll be able to survive in Arkham Asylum for-" he glanced at his board the calculations he had been doing earlier that day, "- another sixteen months and 12 days before I'm either cured or they deem the surgery a failure?"

Howard and Raj glanced at each other noting the relative ease Leonard was speaking about the possibility of being permanently injured unsure of what it meant. This notion was apparently lost to Sheldon who spoke up, "oh ha ha with the Batman reference, comparing living with me to the confines of the insane asylum known for holding the criminally insane in Gotham City, rather clever," he gave his little snickering laugh.

"But for the record, I'm not crazy,-"

"- your mother had you tested," the other three finished for him. They all laughed.

"Well it certainly won't be paradise but I grew up in India, it really can't be any worse than that," Raj was finally able to get out.

Leonard thought about the time Raj had been about to live in his place in the apartment during his relationship with Priya. How different things had become since then. The thought struck something in his memory, "hey Raj, what about your dog? How'd you work that in?"

Raj and Howard both chuckled while Sheldon glared at them both. "It took quite the compromise," Raj finally said, "but Sheldon knew if he wanted me to live with him and help him out then he'd have to accept my little Chardonnay into his home."

Sheldon continued to glare, "I may have allowed that flea ridden canine into my room but do make sure you read the amended section to the roommate agreement, I believe I left a copy of the new section on your bed this morning."

"Yes I got it," Raj said exasperated, "all sixteen pages of it."

Howard and Leonard both lost it at this point, "well it seems like you are certainly in for a treat," Leonard said through repeated giggles.

"Yes, yes its gonna be a grand ole time," Raj muttered, "can we just play cards like normally do."

Leonard still laughing just nodded as he found the folding table that the group had brought just for this purpose. It was becoming a custom to end each comic book night with a game and thus they had needed a table Leonard could sit at in his wheelchair.

The gang each took seats Howard withdrew the deck from an inside pocket of his coat. "So boys, who will be the Mystic Warlord of Ka'a today?"

**So introducing a new story arc here. We probably won't see to much of the Sheldon living with Raj deal since I'm keeping this primarily a Leonard/Penny story but it will certainly be mentioned as the target for a few jokes and will definitely have its role to play later on in the fic. It was fun getting to write this chapter. I didn't really have any thoughts on where it would go except for the first line or two and then I just kinda let the characters be themselves in this situation. It wasn't super easy but I hope it was passable :) thanks to all of those who have read and stuck with me thus far! Not sure how long it'll end up being but I have plenty more to go on so I don't plan on stopping any time soon!**


	16. Chapter 16: Decisions

**Sorry for the lapse in updates I finally got all my projects and finals and essays and all that junk done and over with! Woo hoo haha. So that means I now have 6 solid weeks of mostly free time (stupid jobs). I'll try to get back to posting regularly, my goal is a chapter every other day but we'll see what happens :) hope you enjoy the newest addition to the it took me a while to figure out where to go with this chapter and as always thank you to all of those reading, reviewing, favoriting and following! You guys are the best!**

**Still don't own jack...**

Chapter 16: Decisions

October 24th 2012

The entire gang, girls included, sat huddled in Leonard's small room around his board. Sheldon stood, marker in hand running several detailed scenarios and equations out for his peers. They had already been at it for forty five minutes and the group was losing interest. Penny had even fallen asleep on Leonard's shoulder.

Sheldon was reaching the last remaining corner of remaining white space on the board when Howard finally stood up and said, "Sheldon can we please take a break? This is getting a bit overwhelming."

Sheldon turned with a look that suggested the idea was preposterous, "did Dr. Robert Oppenheimer stop and rest when he was building the atomic bomb?" he asked turning back to the board. "We only have a week to figure this out or it'll be a disaster."

Howard turned back to his chair, "well that's all I got, who's next?"

The group remained silent... Bernadette looked confused, Amy was too interested to try and stop it, Raj was mute, and Penny was asleep.

Leonard finally spoke up, "Sheldon you need to relax, the world is not going to end if we do not figure out what costumes we are going to where on Halloween."

Sheldon turned his look of indignation on Leonard then, "of course it won't, but the longer it takes us to decide the less time we'll have to put them together which statistically decreases our odds of winning the costume contest at the social gathering your building is hosting."

Leonard sighed, it was always like this with costume contests when Sheldon was around. As soon as Leonard had made the mistake of mentioning that the center he was staying at apparently was pretty big into using holiday's and events to try and keep spirits up in the building. It was a great idea and from what he had heard from patients who had been there for a while there was usually a pretty good turn out of family and friends of the people staying there.

Of course as soon as Sheldon heard this he insisted they immediately try and come up with the best possible costume idea for himself and the group.

"Well fine, if your not gonna stop will you at least let us in on what your doing instead of standing with your back turned," Leonard argued.

Sheldon stared for a moment longer before turning back to the board with an exaggerated wave, "very well then, I have been calculating what the most logical costume choice would be for us based on a variety of variables. Popularity, visual appeal, ease of acquiring possible costumes, and accessories or as I understand the young people are calling it _bling_," he made air quotes around the last word as he said it.

"And what were your conclusions," Leonard asked playing along with his friends scientific charade.

"Well it seems that with the current number of members in our group the best possible options are the Avengers, Star Wars, or the Justice League again, which I may add, I will be voting for," Sheldon responded instantly pointing to one of the three corners as he said each idea.

"Oh that's just cause you like being the Flash," Amy quickly pointed out.

"Yea we've used that one quite a bit I think," Howard added.

"Are there even any girls in the Justice League besides Wonder Woman?" Bernadette piped up.

Sheldon looked at her like she had insulted him, "of course there are, why would I mention it other wise? I said I took the number of our group members into account when calculating," he said. "There's Hawkgirl, Black Canary, and Vixen just to name few."

Leonard spoke up next, "I'm gonna have to agree with them on this one Sheldon I think we've kinda run the course with the Justice League... besides," he paused as he looked down at the wheelchair he was in, "don't you think it would be kinda fun to you know, incorporate the fact that I'm on wheels."

Sheldon stared at for several seconds before responding in full seriousness, "well if we do Star Wars, you could be a droid?"

The sheer unexpectedness of the statement caused both Howard and Raj to let out brief fits of laughter. Bernadette glared at them as their sudden outburst caused Penny to jerk awake, "I vote Wonder Woman," she said suddenly coming too only knowing they were talking about Halloween.

Leonard joined in the laughter after hearing that comment. The moment was somewhat ruined though when Sheldon said, "see Penny is on my side!"

She looked at Leonard, her face somewhat fearful, "what have I just done?" she asked. Leonard looked at her solemnly, "you have gone over to the dark side my young apprentice, there is no hope for you," he said waving his hand menacingly in front of her.

He couldn't hold his straight face as she poked him in the chest and he started laughing. "Very funny," Penny said leaning in for a quick kiss, "I'll be right back, gonna go find some coffee," she added yawning through her words.

As she got up and left talk returned to their costumes and who thought they should dress up as which characters. Their argument seemed to be going no where until Bernadette spoke up and said, "I really think it would be nice if we could actually include Leonard and his wheelchair in a real and legitimate manner, are there no like wheelchair people in all of your fantasy worlds?"

The three guy just kind of looked at her, none really sure what to say.

That was until Raj leaped to his feet, "mmmmmm," was all that he could get out but there was clearly something he needed to say. He pulled the marker away from Sheldon and stepped up to the white board. As he erased a corner of the board Sheldon let out a noise that sounded like a wounded animal, Amy jabbed him the arm and said, "give him a second."

Raj wrote what seemed to be only a few letters then turned to face the group keeping his body covering what he had wrote. With a big smile on his face he side stepped to reveal his thought.

_X-Men_

The group was silent for a moment before surprisingly Sheldon was the first to speak up, "you know Raj that actually isn't as totally hair brained an idea as I was expecting it to be from you, we might actually be able to get that to work."

Raj rolled his eyes as the girls started asking questions about the characters from the comics and what their options would be.

Leonard wasn't really paying attention, he hadn't been focused really at all since the conversation had started. He did like the idea of X-Men to be honest and that would mean he would get to be the only Professor Charles Xavier but that wasn't where his mind was. He looked down at his chair again, confined to mechanical creation in order to get around at all. Stuck in a tiny room in a building full of injured or otherwise physically unable people. It was a lot to handle he had to admit. Leonard sighed to himself and looked up as he heard the door open.

Penny had just reentered the room clutching a steaming cup of coffee. Leonard's mind wandered towards her and everything she meant to him. As she walked the few feet from the door to the chair next to him he could feel himself start to smile. He felt happy again, he couldn't explain it. It was like just seeing her here, seeing her healthy reminded him of why he was where he was.

He had sacrificed himself for her and he would do it again, he knew it. She gave him that warm smile that always made his heart melt as she sat down and set her coffee down on the arm of her chair. She reached over and squeezed took his hand in hers, squeezing it.

It was like she had known. Leonard looked into her face and saw every emotion he was feeling looking back at him. She felt guilty, she hated seeing him like this, he knew that too. It wasn't fair to either of them. He did the only thing he could think of and pulled her near him for a kiss.

Just as their lips touched however, Penny's body knocked her coffee to the ground causing it to splash upwards and everywhere, covering Leonard's left leg.

"AH," he yelped startled by the burning sensation. Unable to jerk his legs away he started batting at his now steaming pant leg that's was searing his skin.

"Oh shit," Penny blurted jumping out of her chair and grabbing a napkin to help, "I'm so sorry, I can't believe I just did-" she froze as she touched his leg with the napkin. She looked up into Leonard's eyes and realized he had figured out what she just had. The entire room had gone quiet.

"I felt that," his voice barely above a whisper.

"You felt that," Penny responded in the same quiet voice and with tears in her eyes.

Without warning she leaped him and wrapped her arms around his neck. Leonard snaked his arms around her body and held her tight, squeezing her against her close. He could feel her tears on his cheek as they held each other savoring their emotional closeness at that moment.

Leonard thought about the stinging in his left calf from the coffee and smiled, it didn't bother him. In fact, he kind of liked it.

"I love you Penny," he whispered softly into her ear.

Her throat cracked as she tried to speak, Penny coughed and tried again, "I love you too baby."

**So there's chapter 16. It was actually probably the hardest one to write since I really had no idea where it was going to go. I hope we like a Halloween idea, I'm planning on taking this story through Leonard's recovery now and figured it would be more fun to write about it with some holidays in there. Especially since I only had a few ideas coming into the story and none had to do with holidays so kind of the direction I'm gonna go now. Love all the feedback I've been getting and like I said I should be posting more regularly in over the next 6 weeks. Thanks to all! :)**


	17. Chapter 17: Comfort

**We have kind of an interesting chapter today. Part of it comes from another author who goes by the user name of "Slightlyoffkey." He wrote a small piece about a certain aspect of the fic I've been writing and I decided to build on it. I will put his piece in between two sets of dash marks so you know where his work begins and ends. If you enjoy my work I highly encourage you to check out his page as well, truly talented author over there :). Any who thanks to all who are reading regularly and keeping up with everything. Also, I apologize if I don't respond to your comments right away, I try to get to as many of them as I can but except for when I write or post things I'm not a computer too often.**

Chapter 17: Comfort

October 26th 2012

Penny sat up and swung her feet over the edge of the bed. She was still tired, she was always tired these days. For nearly two months she had been battling with her inability to find comfortable sleep. But sleeping in a bed as big as hers can feel incredibly lonely, especially when your used to sharing.

Penny looked over at the side of the bed that had been, no, still was, _his._ It wasn't the same, sleeping alone night after night after she had gotten used to Leonard being there with her. She missed the warmth of his body when they cuddled close together, she missed his arms wrapped protectively around her to keep her rolling away, and most of all she missed his voice. Always there soothing, quietly whispering her to sleep.

She closed her eyes and gently rubbed the sweatshirt she had napped in. _His._ Penny smiled a little then, the way she always did after getting like this. He wasn't gone, he was only on a "temporary leave of absence" as Leonard had taken to calling it.

Getting out of bed Penny stretched tall for a moment before sliding a pair of sweat pants on over the shorts she had worn to bed. It hadn't been a perfect nap maybe only an hour or two but she was feeling better to say the least.

She walked the few feet through her living room to the kitchen looking for a drink. She was about to reach for a wine glass but thought better of deciding something warm sounded better. Pulling out a mug, she made herself of hot tea with lemon hoping to relax a bit.

She sat down on the couch mug in hand and picked up a magazine.

-(Slightlyoffkey starts here)-

Penny looked up toward the door from the single knock. She smirked then stood shaking her head, "Well I know it's not Sheldon."

Penny crossed to the door wrapping Leonard's sweatshirt and vest a little more tightly around her frame. She opened the door to see Bernadette and Amy standing there.

"Hi guys, come on in. I was just getting **hanging out, whats up?**

"**Um the costume meeting? Duh," Amy said laughing. **_**Oh right,**_** Penny thought. They had decided to try and figure out which characters they wanted to go as for the party. **

"**Oh right," Penny laughed, "good timing."**

Bernadette smile then reached over to rub the sweatshirt sleeve between her thumb and forefinger.  
"Still wearing Leonard's sweatshirt I see. That's everyday I've been over for the last week."

Penny blushed then turned toward the couch. She held the arm of the shirt up to her nose.  
"It comforting when I'm alone. It smells like his shampoo and deodorant. It smells like Leonard smells when he's in bed with me. Pretty lame huh?"

Amy shook her head softly, "No not at all. Though vastly inferior to other animals, the human sense of smell is high evolved and tied to ones emotion in a very primal way. I had a cousin that when I my uncle died took her father's flannel shirt and wore it for months. She was heartbroken after my Aunt washed it. It never gave her comfort anymore."

Bernadette nodded as if agreeing. Penny put the sleeve up to her nose again. "Who would have thought sweat, Axe deodorant and Bed Head shampoo could be comforting."

-(End of Slightlyoffkey)-

All three couldn't help but laugh at that, "well, if he wears it when your in bed I'm sure we know why it smells like sweat," Amy added causing Bernadette to lose it in a fit of giggles.

"Oh ha ha," Penny added sarcastically but the look on her face clearly showed she was amused. "Come on in, we mind as well figure this stuff out," she added turning and leading the girls into her apartment. "Do you have any idea who any of the X-men characters are?" she asked as she sat down on one of the couch.

Amy and Bernadette followed, the former taking the chair next to Penny and the latter occupying the other end of the couch.

"Not at all," Bernadette said simply, "but we've got it covered." She reached into her bag and pulled out her laptop.

At the same time Amy added, "Sheldon forwarded me a pdf list of all the female X-men over the past 40 years of comics and he said we had free rein to choose, which is oddly surprising considering."

Bernadette thought about it for second before finishing setting her computer up. "It is a bit isn't it..." she added, "oh well, what's the first name lets see what we can find on these... what are they, mutants? Did I say that right?"

"I believe so," Amy said looking at her phone, "ah yes, Sheldon's list title is _Female Mutants_, geez that's a long list, broken down by decade too."

"Hang on," said Penny, she got up, went to the kitchen, and grabbed a new bottle of wine and three glasses. If they were about to do this, she was opening the wine.

"Good call," Bernadette pointed out as she took her glass.

"Lets get this party started," Penny added offering her glass for a toast in mock enthusiasm.

So to work they went, comparing the different mutants and what they're powers were, what decade they were from, and of course, what they looked like. Penny even got out a note book to take notes a one point.

"Oh here's a weird one," Amy said squinting at her phone. "Sheldon says that technically this one is a bad guy, or bad girl if that's preferred but Howard made him put it on the list."

"Well that's never a good thing," Bernadette said nervously, "what's the name?"

"Mystique," Amy responded simply. Her and Penny waited and watched while Bernadette typed it in. Before finally, "Oh dammit, Howard," she swore. Penny giggled at the outburst, "what is it? Let us see," she wined.

Bernadette smiled as she turned the computer around, "you have to go as her Penny," she said.

Penny and Amy looked at the computer before they both started laughing. "You can't be serious," Penny finally got out, "she's like naked or something."

Amy added, "well technically shes not really naked I mean its kind of like shes covered in blue paint right? What's she do?"

Bernadette pulled the computer back to her before reading off "_Mystique possesses the ability to shape shift into other beings she comes in contact with."_

"Huh," Penny mumbled, "I wonder if she has to put on clothes when she shape shifts." The others started laughing.

"Maybe she shape shifts into someone with clothes?" Bernadette pointed out. "What?" Amy asked, "How can she just make clothes, all she has is her blue skin?"

"I don't know, how does any of this stuff work? Three names ago we had a girl who could turn into a big diamond."

"Hey I liked her," Penny added insulted.

"Of course you did honey," Bernadette responded sweetly, she paused for a second before adding, "I still think you should go as Mystique."

"Not happening," she responded raising a finger.

Amy was laughing again, "Oh come on bestie it'd be great! Just imagine us painting you all blue and walking into the party with nothing but the paint and a red wig on it'd be a hit. A goddess like body like yours needs to be shown off, I bet you'd give half the old guys there heart attacks."

Bernadette joined in the laughter at that one.

Penny just wrapped her sweatshirt around her more securely and huddled back on the couch, "you guys suck."

They just laughed harder.

**So want to know who they're going as? To bad :P we'll find out next time! Hope you liked the chapter and the part in the middle written by "Slightlyoffkey." The part in bold in the middle of it is a line that I had to change and add to in order to make it fit better with where I wanted this chapter to go. Thanks again for all who have stuck with me this far :) **


	18. Chapter 18: Communication

**Not much new to say today. Sorry for the extra day delay, had a lot going on past couple days. Hopefully should be pretty regularly from here on out. As always to all who R & R's! :)**

Chapter 18: Communication

October 27th 2012

"Come on, you're not gonna tell me what your going as?" Leonard whined as Penny grinned at him.

"Nope," she responded sticking her tongue out at him before leaning back down on top of him. She was seated on Leonard's lap, him sitting in his wheelchair. This had become their usual spot whenever Penny visited. It was the easiest way for them to as close together as they wanted to be. Plus, as Leonard pointed out to her, his legs wouldn't fall asleep no matter how long they stayed in that position.

"Oh yea," he responded as he jabbed his fingers into her sides. She shrieked and tried to escape but Leonard wrapped one arm around her waist holding her tight as he continued tickling her. She laughed and pushed against him but he wouldn't budge.

Penny was finally able to pry Leonard's fingers away from her and jump to her feet just out of his reach. "Well now you definitely don't get to know," she said turning her head away from him in mock anger.

Leonard tried to wheel closer to her but forgot they had put the brakes on. Penny giggled as he struggled trying to turn the wheels for a moment before he figured it out. She couldn't resist a comment, "forget something?" she asked innocently. Leonard laughed.

"So come on," Leonard said finally getting his chair working. "What if I tell you who I'm going as?" he asked.

Penny giggled at him, "I already know who your going as, there's only one guy in a wheel chair on the team."

Leonard laughed at that, "Whats his name?" he asked. Penny's face hardened, "umm... Mr...X?" she got out pausing between each word. "Oh come on, I know he's bald, that's gotta count for something."

"Don't remind me," he said, "Sheldon already has the bald cap he's making me wear." He really started laughing at this point. "Come here," he said taking her by the hand and pulling her back onto his lap. He wrapped his arms around her waist and said, "of course it counts, it just means you have to tell me who you're going as."

Penny laughed at the way he asked it and leaned in to kiss him. "Nope," she whispered pulling back just enough to get the word out before kissing him again.

"Fine," Leonard said giving in, "but you cheated." He laughed and returned the kiss.

"I will say this for you, I'm _not_ going as that blue chick with the red hair," Penny said leaning back on his shoulder.

"What you mean Mystique? Darn..." Leonard said sounding disappointed. She raised her eyebrows at him, "I mean good choice," Leonard quickly corrected.

"I'm not painting myself blue, Leonard," she said sternly."

"Hey, it wasn't my idea," he responded holding his hands up, "I just agreed wit it. They both started laughing and leaned in for another kiss. "Of course you did," she teased.

Penny's phone beeped and she reached for it. "Ugh," she exclaimed checking it, "I have to be at work in 10 minutes." She stood up and straightened out her work uniform which she had worn over to see Leonard.

She put her hands on his knees and leaned into him resting her forehead against his. They sat like that for several seconds before Penny finally spoke, "I'll miss you," she whispered. Leonard leaned his lips to hers before responding, "I always miss you."

Penny stood and took his hand. "I love you," she said simply. Leonard smiled before responding, "thank you."

She laughed, "perfectly acceptable answer."

Leonard pulled her down for one more good bye kiss, "I love you too," he whispered as they broke apart. He felt her smiling as she pulled away, "good bye I'll be here tomorrow," she got out as she walked towards the door.

And just like that she was gone. Leonard was alone, he stared at the door for a while looking at the place Penny had disappeared. These were the worst parts of his days he decided. Being so close, feeling her touch, hearing her voice, so close, so happy, all of it together and then just like that it was over.

He missed sharing a bed with her the most he thought. Falling asleep with his arms wrapped around her, the warmth of her body pressed closely against his. Leonard sighed, it was a lot to handle, that was for sure.

He glanced at his watch, it read 3:57 pm, that meant that his crew would be arriving in three minutes if Sheldon's schedule worked out as it normally did. They had been forced to plan another costume meeting after the previous evening had lead to an argument as to who got to be which character.

Leonard was happy his job was done, he had his costume, there was only one character he could be after all. He would let them argue amongst themselves about who was being Cyclops or Wolverine or Nightcrawler. Or if characters like Colossus or Gambit were worth being part of the vote.

Leonard didn't care. He thought of Penny and how happy they were when they were together, he thought about holding her tight against him never letting go.

As he opened his eyes Leonard realized he was smiling. There wasn't a lot that could bring a true smile to his face these days as he sat, confined to a wheel chair and a chiseled, brick prison. Yet this thought brought a certain realization to his mind. When he thought of Penny and the way things could have turned out, he realized he was perfectly content with where he was.

So when he heard the traditional

_Knock knock knock _"Leonard,"

_Knock knock knock_ "Leonard,"

_Knock knock knock _"Leonard,"

He was ready to answer the door with a strong and smiling face.

**So not sure how I feel about how this chapter turned out. I'm not sure if its exactly what I wanted out of a primary Leonard/Penny scene at this point but I think it works. Let me know what you guys think! :) Also, next chapter will be the halloween party and if you think that a certain character should go as a certain X-Man then be sure to let me know. I don't really have costumes 100% picked out yet for everyone so don't be afraid to share your ideas! Thanks to all who are reading! :D**


	19. Chapter 19: Secrets Revealed

**Here is the first part of the party episode! Hope you all like it, it took me a while to figure out who was going to go as which character and honestly the reason I've been hiding the past couple chapters is because I had no clue haha. I just kind of jumped into the X-Men idea, without much thought so I hope it turns out okay for you all! :) As always thanks to everyone who reads, the fic has over 12,000 views right now and I can honestly say I never expected that to happen, so a big thanks to all!**

Chapter 19: Secrets revealed

October 31st 2012

The four guys made quite the sight waiting in the lobby for their women counter parts to arrive. The plan had been to meet in the lobby at 7:30pm since the party started at 7:00 and as Penny had said, "no one would be there right at seven." However, it was now 7:33 and Sheldon was getting antsy being thrown off schedule like this.

"Will you settle yourself, Wolverine," Howard said to him as Sheldon started pacing nervously. Making a joke both at Sheldon's emotional state at being late and his costume. He had ordered a fully authentic Wolverine yellow jumpsuit complete with mask and retractable plastic claws. There had been one that came with metal claws but Sheldon had expressed his feelings towards those as them being "too dangerous," which Leonard had to agree with.

Sheldon stopped his pacing and turned his eyes on Howard glaring at him from behind his mask. And Howard had to admit the mask and claws did for once give Sheldon a rather menacing look, that was until he started talking.

"Not only did I agree to arrive at this party late but now these women folk are delaying us further, what if we miss the costume judging?!" he exclaimed.

Leonard who had been playing with a present from Howard turned to Sheldon, "just relax," he said exasperated, "the judging won't be until nine o' clock, they want to make sure everyone is there."

Sheldon sighed and took a seat next to Raj, "still doesn't make it okay to be late," he muttered.

Leonard shook his head and returned to his messing with his chair. Since he was going as Professor Xavier, Leonard had taken to wearing a simple suit and tie as was the professor's custom and a bald cap that had been procured by Sheldon.

The best part of his costume however had come from Howard. He had apparently gotten a hold of an old motor that was used to drive one of the experimental rovers for other planetary exploration, although he failed to mention how he come into possession of it.

Howard had not only altered the motor with his engineering skills but he had modified it fit Leonard's wheelchair and set up a wireless hand held remote for it so he could drive the wheelchair with it making it look like he was moving on his own, much like the real professor would.

His other gift had come from Raj, a little less technological but no less important were the set of wheel covers that he had obtained for Leonard which would simply slip over the wheels of the chair and displayed the large X symbol of the X-Men.

As Leonard looked down at his chair he couldn't help but smile. He glanced at his friends, _they may be twisted, perverted, anal, and psychotic sometimes, but I have to admit, I have amazing friends, _he thought.

He focused on each one in turn, Howard, sitting in his hilariously skin tight blue and yellow jump suit that covered nearly every inch of skin on his body, even his head since it had a hood. The best part though were the authentic cyclops goggles he had obtained and really brought the whole outfit together. They even glowed bright red like he was shooting laser beams. He had already done this aiming at Sheldon several times.

Next to him was Raj, looking quite the opposite in his gigantic silver colossus suit. The suit itself was a simple cotton/foam blend that gave the appearance of large metallic muscles covering Raj's body. Leonard had to admit that as long as you didn't touch him the costume itself looked incredibly realistic. What completed it was that Raj had managed to find a mask that was actually made of a metallic material and gave him the full appearance of a robot like metal man who could rip through a concrete wall in second.

And finally Sheldon, in his wolverine jumpsuit. He was sitting absentmindedly repeating his stage name "wolverine" over and over again trying to find a voice for it that sounded scary but accurately depicted his character. Leonard laughed as he heard Sheldon's voice change pitch with every saying of the word.

The sound of the automatic doors opening caught the attention of all four costume clad lads. They turned as one to see their girls marching through them, and all four jaws seemed to hit the floor at once.

First through the door was Penny. There was little mistaking her costume, the sparkling white wig and billowing cape gave her away at once. As Storm she was dressed in a simple spandex suit that left her arms bare, with a gold belt around her waist and gold straps that went over her shoulders.

Next through the door was Bernadette who was dressed very similarly to Howard save for the extra yellow in her suit and the short red wig which hid her copious amounts of blond hair.

Last but not least came Amy. She was wearing a green and yellow jumpsuit that covered every inch of her skin save for her face. It even included the gloves to cover her hands. That would have been enough for any average X-Men fan to guess her costume but what gave it away were the strands of white running through her hair, Rogue.

An audible "wow," escaped Leonard's lips as he looked his girlfriend up and down. The tight spandex conforming to ever curve and shape of her body. Penny smiled as he saw him staring and moved forward to kiss him.

Bernadette was the first to speak up, "ugh, do all of these guys wear spandex?" she asked moving her arms and legs feeling the material stretch around her.

Sheldon was naturally the first to respond. "Well technically, spandex is the natural friend of any crime fighter whether they possess mutant abilities or not. It allows for easy, unhindered movement during combat situations and is extremely efficient at keeping the body at optimum temperatures even under harsher conditions."

The rest of the gang just stared, "of course it is," Penny sarcastically replied.

It was then that Leonard realized who Bernadette was, he hadn't really focused on it as they were coming in since his eyes had been drawn to Penny but now that he saw her next to Howard he knew at once.

"Hey," he exclaimed pointing at the two of them, "you guys cheated."

They both blushed slightly at the direct comment, "uhh, what do you mean?" Howard asked a little too easily.

"Marvel Girl and Cyclops?" he asked disbelievingly, "you two show up as the only two of the original five X-Men who are married and expect this group of nerds to accept it was coincidence?"

"Okay fine we cheated," exclaimed Bernadette throwing her hands up in defeat, "big deal, I just wanted people to know we were a couple."

Penny laughed, "of course you did," she repeated.

It was then when Sheldon finally addressed his own girlfriend, "Amy, that's an excellent depiction of Rogue, the gloves are an accurate touch, but what chemicals have you used to alter your hair?" he asked standing a measurable distance back and keeping one hand over his hand and mouth.

Amy laughed at that actually, "there are no chemicals Sheldon, they're just clips. See?" She reached up and pulled one from her hair revealing a small clip attached to a long strand of fake white hair.

"Fascinating," was all Sheldon was able to reply.

"Well come on gang, lets get this party started!" Penny said with severe over enthusiasm even ending the sentence with a whooping noise.

Leonard laughed as the gang gathered together to head to the cafeteria where the party would be held. Penny moved behind him to push his chair but Leonard had a surprise for her.

He waited until she put her hands on the handles of the chair before he pressed a button on the remote and the wheelchair started forward on its own.

"What the-" Penny exclaimed jumping backwards, Leonard giggled like a school girl as he pressed another button causing the chair to turn and face the group keeping the remote hidden in his hand. "What?" he asked innocently, "did I forget to mention I'm actually a real mutant?"

Penny raised her eyebrows at him giving him a wolfish grin. "Oh really now?" she asked leaning over him seductively. "You mean that humming coming from under your chair isn't a motor?"

Leonard's grin sank, "you ruin all my fun," he said in mock sadness. "Aww cheer up stud," she said giving him a quick peck on the cheek, "your still my little mutant." Leonard blushed.

Penny stood then and addressed the group as a whole, "party ho!" she called out.

The group started down one of the many hallways headed for the music that could be heard. Sheldon however, remained rooted in place. "Huh, who would have thought Penny would be the first to use _Ho, _in its correct context?" he asked no one in particular as he moved to catch up with the group.

**So this chapter ended up being so long that I decided to stop here and break it into two parts. This one which describes all the costumes and the next will actually detail the party. Sorry for those who were hoping for the full event, but have hope I am home on vacation now and I have little else to do besides read/write so don't be surprised if there are daily updates starting on Wednesday (no promises about tomorrow) and as always thanks to all who read this :)**

**P.S. I also spit out my first song fic today and it features L/P and I would love your opinions on that as well. Haven't tried that style of writing before but the song stuck in my head on the drive home and made me think of the couple :) thanks!**


	20. Chapter 20: Party Time

**Let me start with a big Merry Christmas and a Happy Holidays to all who happen to read today's chapter. Festivities have ended at my house and its time to get another chapter out there! Today marks the second half of the Halloween party, so I hope you all enjoy! Thanks to all who read!**

Chapter 20: Party Time

October 31st 2012

The site of the cafeteria took the breath away from the seven friends as they entered the double doors. The entire scene was like nothing they had expected. The once normal, white walled cafeteria that was usually decorated with little else besides dozens of round tables had been completely transformed.

It seemed like something out of the movies, music was playing, orange and black streamers coated the walls along side silhouettes of ghosts, skeletons, and jack o' lanterns. There were classic Halloween games like bobbing for apples and ring toss scattered around the sides, a dance floor that took up about a third of the room and a buffet set against the opposite wall full of goodies.

As the gang looked around they noticed just how many people had showed up. It seemed like every patient at the center had brought five people. It was hard to differentiate between who was staying there and was there for the party but they supposed that was the point.

They had barely gotten inside when they were approached by a female witch who Leonard recognized as one of the staff at the center.

"Hey Sandy," he said wheeling himself in front of the group, "the place looks great."

"Thanks Leonard," she responded smiling at the group, "the X-men, very nice choice, we didn't actually see to many group costumes this year."

Sheldon spoke up then, "why would there not be many group costumes?" he asked questioningly, "a group costume statistically tends to increase ones chance of winning a costume party due to the number of possible variables between costumes and variety."

Sandy looked at him taken slightly aback by his up front attitude, "umm, the costume contest winner here is usually just one person, we try to help keep our patients spirits higher with events like this. Its not about winning its about getting everyone's mind off the troubles they are experiencing at the moment."

"Well that seems highly un-" Sheldon started but Penny pinched the back of his arm, "that sounds great, you guys did an amazing job," she said stepping in front of Sheldon. "Come on guys lets partay!" she exclaimed taking a hold of Leonard's wheelchair and pushing him into the room.

"Have fun," Sandy said before walking away to rejoin the party.

"What should we do first," Bernadette asked as they made their way into the middle of the large room. The flashing lights and music from the dance floor were splashing across the entirety add a fun mix of color across the entirety of the room.

"How bout we get a table and put some stuff down," suggested Penny moving towards the side with the buffet and tables. "Good plan," said Howard who quickly stepped in behind her followed by the rest of the group.

They found a table in a corner that was far enough from the music for them to talk each other comfortably and the girls set down their bags and coats while the guys deposited what few belongings they had on their person.

Raj sat down and removed his silver mask for a moment and reached into a fold in his large colossus suit. He withdrew another silver object and moved to unscrew it.

"Raj what the hell?" Bernadette exclaimed as she caught sight of him. Raj finished unscrewing his flask and took a long draw from it. "Hey I'm not gonna sit here in silence all night," he took another swig and through his mask back on, "woo, lets get this party started." He jumped up and moved to the in the direction of the dance floor. "Well I better go keep an eye on him," Howard said moving quickly to keep up with the light weight Indian.

"Well I guess that leaves time for some ladies fun," Amy practically yelled jumping up, "come on girls I wanna try and bite an apple!"

Penny and Bernadette looked at each other skeptically as she took off across the floor. Penny leaned down to give Leonard a quick kiss, "come save me later?" Leonard laughed slightly, "of course, Lady Ororo." She just gave him a quizzical look. "Oh come on," he laughed out loud this time, "Storm's real name?"

Penny continued to stare, "hey all I was supposed to research was appearance not back story," she laughed. "Fair enough," Leonard responded kissing her again before she got up to follow Bernadette and Amy who was barely visible anymore.

"Well looks like its just us for now huh Wolverine?" Leonard asked behind him giggling. He still couldn't get used to Sheldon playing the bad ass and often short tempered hero from the marvel universe.

"I suppose," Sheldon responded not catching Leonard's amusement, "shall we see what entertainment we may find in the land of mediocrity."

So off they went, Professor X and his companion Wolverine as they began to wander the party taking in the sights, games, and costumes. Leonard was impressed with it all. Many of the patients had found clever ways to incorporate that which ails them into their costumes.

There were a pair of leg amputees talking together, one was a pirate with a peg leg the other only had one leg but was wearing an IHOP uniform. That made Leonard laugh, some people managed to find humor in any situation.

The pair continued to wander just enjoying the atmosphere when they found themselves near a small Halloween trivia table. They stopped and decided to watch for a minute. There were three participants at the table and one staff member reading questions.

"Halloween is also known as what?" the staff member asked.

"All hallows eve," Sheldon said to Leonard.

There was a pause then the middle contestant said, "all hallows eve?"

"Correct, next question, the word Halloween comes from old English dating back to what century?"

Again Sheldon leaned in to Leonard, "sixteenth," he said.

This time none of the participants were able to answer, "sixteenth," said the staff member in charge.

"This is ridiculous," Sheldon said as he turned and walked away, not even bothering to stop for Leonard, who was forced to apologize for his Sheldon's outburst when all four members of the table looked in their direction.

When Leonard finally caught up with him, he found Sheldon in a heated argument with a teenager who had come dressed as the flash but apparently had several flaws in his costume.

Leonard just shook his head as he turned in the other direction hoping to find Penny. After several minutes of searching he found all three girls out dancing together on the floor. He noticed Amy's face and hair dripping wet and had to laugh imagining her face down in an apple bucket.

He got an idea then and used his remote to wheel himself up to the group purposely behind Penny. Bernadette noticed him but he put a finger to his lips motioning for her to keep quiet. She smiled as Leonard rolled up and bumped into the back of Penny's legs.

She squealed slightly as she started to fall but topped as she quickly ended up in Leonard's lap. He smiled at her as she turned towards him, "care for a dance?" he asked. Penny laughed, "feeling light on our feet are we Hofstadter?" He kissed her in response and started moving his wheelchair back and forth ever so slightly.

They stayed like that for several wonderful moments, her in his lap, head on his shoulder, just gently listing back and forth as the wheel chair made its movements.

Three songs had gone by before they had even realized it. "Hey, wanna go see if we can find everyone?" Penny asked. Leonard nuzzled his face in her hair, "I could stay here all night," he said, "but I guess that makes sense." He laughed as he turned the chair towards the rest of the room.

He started wheeling them both, Penny still in his lap, towards the more crowded parts of the room. Something caught her eye and she told him to stop. She jumped from his lap and headed towards a table in a darker corner of the room, Leonard close behind.

He realized what table she was headed for and his heart sank slightly, he had seen the table earlier and purposely avoided it. It was a divination table.

"Penny," he said slightly exasperated, when he caught up to her at the table. "Leonard don't," she warned remembering their last talk about psychics years ago, "I want to do this."

Leonard had learned much since that day, and he knew when to back up, he held his hands up in front of him, "okay, okay, be my guest."

She approached the table and the gowned gypsy woman behind it. "Are you a psychic?" she asked cautiously. The woman smiled at her, "not exactly, there are many who refute the term psychic and what it stands for," she paused as Penny turned her eyes on Leonard briefly. "I am merely here to pass on an old Scottish tradition of divination that has been practiced for centuries.

Penny smiled, "Ooo, I wanna try, hows it work?" The old woman smiled back, "it's simple really, all you do is take an apple-" she seemed to produce one from no where, "and a peeler-" like wise appearing with a wave of her hand, "then you simply peel one strip from the apple until it breaks off on its own."

"That's it?" Penny asked. "Lets just start their the woman responded. Leonard rolled his eyes slightly behind Penny's back as she picked up the apple and peeler. She touched the peeler to the skin and started spinning the apple through it.

"There we go... oops," Penny said as she got her strip of apple peel, "is it okay if it tore a little bit?"

"Perfectly fine," the woman said, "every little variable is what makes these unique to their peeler, now face the opposite way and toss your peel over your shoulder and onto the table and it is said it will land in the shape of the letter of your future spouse."

Leonard snorted quietly at this but managed to hide it under a coughing fit as Penny turned towards him. She gave him a slightly terrifying wolfish grin as she tossed her peel high into the air.

Both her and Leonard craned their necks then to see what had happened.

There on the table was the peel, it was bent perfectly right in the spot where Penny had accidentally ripped it at a 90 degree angle with just a small piece of skin holding it together.

A 90 degree angle that formed a perfect "L."

**So I think this is all I'm going to do for the party. This is supposed to be an L/P fic so I'm keeping many of the characters to smaller roles as I'm sure we've noticed. I might go back and do a one shot though fully detailing the party and each of the characters little adventures while here I just need to think of some first lol feel free to offer ideas or take the idea and run with it! :)**

**Also the divination bit at the end I added after doing some Halloween research and learned that this was in fact a real tradition. Thought it would be fun since Leonard is usually so anti psychic stuff :) Hope you enjoyed and thanks to all who are reading!**


	21. Chapter 21: Recovery

**Took a break from Hero yesterday to do a song fic that I got a request for, so that is up now if anyone wants to check it out :) As for Hero we are making a small jump forward about two weeks so we are now roughly half way through November! Thanks to all who are reading! Enjoy!**

Chapter 21: Recovery

November 15th 2012

"Okay Dr. Hofstadter, we are going to administer one more shock then call it for the day," the nurse said as Leonard braced himself against the table.

She pressed a button on a computer and Leonard felt the electricity course through his legs. It didn't hurt exactly but it certainly was not a feeling that he enjoyed. Leonard ground his teeth into the small rubber mouth guard he had been provided and watched as his legs remained motionless.

_No real surprise there, _he thought, every shock thus far had, had little to no effect. Only one had managed to induce a small spasm through the lower muscles in his ankle which according to the doctors and nurses constantly around him, was a positive sign considering they had only just begun this treatment.

Leonard breathed a sigh of relief as the shock stopped and the nurse called an end for his physical therapy for that day. Sliding himself from the table/bed he was on to his wheelchair he quickly thanked his therapist's for the day and excused himself.

He made it to his room in short time, desperately craving a shower. He always felt this way after his sessions. Ever since he had mentioned the feeling returning to his legs his doctors had pushed for more frequent sessions as well as this new shock therapy which was supposed to test which nerves were growing but also help trigger new ones into correct locations.

It was exhausting, there were a serious of stretches he was supposed to go through that each helped a different spot on his legs, an intense workout for his upper body because it was common for people in wheelchairs to give up on that and let themselves fall dramatically in there muscle mass percentages, and now this ever so enlightening shock therapy.

Leonard sighed, at least it wasn't all bad. _Gotta put up with the bad to get to the good,_ he thought. There were special massages that he would get once a week that worked not only his legs but his lower back too which he had to admit felt amazing, as well as the fact that he couldn't deny that he was feeling significantly better. Getting to use his muscles and feel somewhat active was a great way for him to keep his mind off of more negative thoughts.

Arriving at his room Leonard quickly entered his special bathroom with a shower equipped with wheel chair access. The entire floor was level and there was nothing he had to step over to get into his shower. He could roll the chair in, turn on the water, and move himself into a special seat attached to the wall in its direct stream to keep his wheelchair from getting soaked.

He pulled off his shirt as he entered the bathroom and pulled a towel off a rack near the door. Placing it on a low hanging hook just outside the waters line of fire, he turned on the water and waited for it to heat up.

As he waited, Leonard couldn't help but notice himself in the ceiling to floor mirror set against the wall opposite the door. He had to admit that if there were positives to being in a wheelchair it was that his current routine was certainly leaving his upper body more defined. He was certainly no body builder but Leonard had to admit it was more definition than he had ever seen on his small skinny frame.

He made a few superhero poses in the mirror laughing to himself before thinking he would have to find a way to show himself off to Penny the next time she came around. He sighed as he thought of Penny, she had only been able to visit all of four days in the past two weeks. Her work schedule, coupled with her night time classes and the strict visiting hour schedule of the center made it very hard for them to coordinate.

Leonard forced himself to think of the good things again as he rolled into the shower and transferred himself from his wheelchair to the seat set into the wall. He pushed it just far enough away so it was out of the way of the water but still reachable when he was done.

He let the water wash over his sweaty and hurt body as his mind wandered. He smiled again when he had received what he thought was his best news in three months. Leonard had been granted his first day away from the center, since he had been showing improvement and he had begged for the past two weeks, Leonard had been given clearance to leave the center and spend Thanksgiving with his friends. He had no idea what they would do since four flights of stairs weren't exactly ideal for the wheelchair bound but he was hopeful.

Leonard hadn't shared the news with anyone yet, he wanted Penny to be the first to know and her continued work schedule was getting in the way of his plans. He smiled as he thought about it, he would get to spend his first full day away from the confines of the building that had become his home. _More like prison_, Leonard thought.

Feeling better he killed the water and reached for his towel. Drying off was never easy in a soaking wet shower, he mused but it was doable. He finished drying, tossed the towel into the basket for after they had been used and pulled his chair close to him. Transferring himself from one seat to the other he reached up and grabbed his red robe from the back of the bathroom door he had specifically requested from Sheldon.

Putting it on was never easy sitting down, especially without the use of ones legs. He managed it though and pulled it tight around him as he moved out into his room. He was exhausted after his long day, he always was after therapy. There was work he knew he should get done but his brain was not in it at the moment. Besides it wasn't even really his field anyway. Since his injury he had begged the university to allow him to continue some measure of work so as not to go crazy in his room. They had hesitantly agreed, allowing him to continue work on some of his current problems and theories. Without his lab to test things though he felt more like a theoretical physicist than an experimental one.

He shrugged it off and figured he could get it done tomorrow. Leonard caught sight of a present Penny had given him then, it was a special care bear that she had, had in her collection. It had a bandage around her head and its stomach said "get well soon." She had gotten it from when she had spent time in the hospital when she was younger and past it to him for his time in need.

Leonard smiled as he picked it up, he couldn't tell if he was imagining it, or because it had spent so much time in Penny's apartment, but he though it smelled like her. His eyes filled with water as he thought about her. Pulling himself up into his bed he held the bear tight against his chest as he allowed himself to drift off into that unknown realm that is sleep.

**There we have it :) number 21! Hope we like some of Leonard's self reflection and improvements. I did more research and found that electrical therapy is indeed a slow remedy for ailments like this so I figured I'd try it out. Thanks to all for the continued support and criticims, both the good and the bad! :)**


	22. Chapter 22: Realizations

**I'm trying something new here and I'm going to incorporate a songfic in a chapter of Hero. Not sure how its going to go but I've been wanting to use this song for this couple for a while and figured why not kill two birds with one stone right? Let me know how it goes and it might be something I try again. If not well, its only one chapter right?**

**Oh and for the record the song is called "Whatever It Is" by The Zac Brown Band :)**

Chapter 22: Realizations

November 18th 2012

Leonard sat alone in his room staring at his white board. He was tired, he was frustrated, and worst of all he was lonely. It had been days since he had seen Penny now and he was starting to miss her more and more. She had become his rock over the past few months, his saving grace when he felt over whelmed by it all. The clinic, the therapy, the wheelchair, all of it took its toll but as long as he got his regular dose of blond haired beauty he was okay.

Now though, after several days without her and who knew how many more Leonard was feeling sullen. He looked at his white board again, still stuck on the equation he was attempting to differentiate and just gave up. He let out an audible grunt of frustration and literally threw the marker he was holding at the board.

Leonard sighed as he watched the marker skitter across the room after deflecting off his incomplete work. He rarely gave in to emotional outbursts such as that and was starting to worry about his sanity. Was it bad that he was getting like this? Just a few days ago he had been so hopeful for recovery and now after spending a couple days alone he was what? Angry? Sad?... Alone?

That was it he decided. Leonard had spent so little of his life truly alone that he had never learned how to deal with it. And now, after having so many people so close to his heart, so attached emotionally being kept from them was like sickening disease that weakened his resolve and confidence.

It was his kryptonite he decided, the one thing that could cause him to fall into the state of emotional turmoil that he had found himself in. Absence of those he cared about. Especially Penny. Being kept from her, he thought was comparable to keeping a dehydrated man from water. She was his essence, the reason he had a smile on his face when he woke up in the mornings or the reason he fought day in and day out to get better. So one day he would be able to stand there with her and hold her in his arms lifting her off the ground.

Leonard was shaken from his reverie as he heard the door to his room open. He turned and couldn't believe his eyes, "Penny!" he exclaimed loudly wheeling himself over to her with one great push of his wheelchair. He wrapped his arms around her petite waist and held her tight, burying his face in her stomach. She seemed slightly surprised by enthusiastic greeting but recovered quickly and returned the hug adding a passionate kiss for good measure.

"Hey you," she said standing and giving him a cheeky grin, "miss me that much did we?"

"You have no idea," Leonard admitted blushing, "in fact if Sheldon were here he would likely say that someone unfamiliar with the law of large numbers would label this situation a coincidence."

Penny's confused face forced Leonard to continue.

He laughed as he said, "I was just sitting her losing my mind thinking about how much I missed you, all of you really, I get so little contact with the outside world stuck in here and only getting to see you once in a while is taking its toll." He grabbed her hand and pulled her into his lap as he finished.

She snuggled into him and said, "well your not alone in that respect."

Leonard realized something at that point however, "wait, how are you here?" he asked, "I thought you were working late tonight?"

It was Penny's turn to smile, she stood and grabbed a brown paper bag that she had brought with her, "well it just so happens you aren't the only one going crazy with out your other half here, I switched shifts so I could come visit you and I brought this," she indicated the bag.

Leonard couldn't tell what was in the bag but Penny didn't take long in revealing it. She moved to the TV and produced the Xbox from his apartment. He was stunned.

"It wasn't easy to get Sheldon to let me take it, and even harder learning how to hook this damn thing up but I think I can manage," she started saying as she began plugging wires in this way and that. "I thought we could do a little alien killing and take our minds off everything," she continued turning around with a wink.

The bespectacled physicist was stunned, "you never cease to amaze me, you know that right?"

Penny just laughed, "when your dating a science whiz with an IQ of 173 you pick up a few things," she winked again.

Within minutes both players were set and ready to play, Penny was in Leonard's lap in the wheelchair and the game was loading. They were playing Halo and had decided to enter "firefight" mode so they could team up and fight wave after wave of incoming hostile enemies.

"Ooh one more thing," Penny said jumping up. She grabbed her Ipod and hooked it up to a portable speaker she had decided to bring, "something a little more lively and upbeat than the sound of aliens dying," she said sitting back in his lap.

Just like that the match began and waves of enemies were upon them, both fell victim to the throngs of the game.

The game was intense, the music was pleasant, and each others company was perfect. It wasn't long until Penny had taken off in the kill count, racking up medal after medal for alien deaths. She really was a natural, Leonard thought as he watched her score continue to rise.

As he chuckled to himself and noticed a bit more of the world outside the game he caught the sound of a country song he recognized starting to play from Penny's speaker. He stopped playing and listened;

_She got eyes that cut you like a knife_

_and lips that taste like sweet red wine_

_And pretty legs go to heaven every time_

_She got a gentle way that puts me at ease_

_When she walks in the room I can hardly breathe_

_Got a devastating smile knock a grown man to his knees_

Leonard turned his attention from the speaker to the beautiful green eyed goddess in his lap. He smiled as he thought of the words from the song and just how well they seemed to relate to her. From the moment he had laid eyes on her walking up the stairs to his apartment he knew he was hooked. There was no denying it, her physical beauty had captured his attention... but it was the girl inside he fell in love with.

_She got whatever it is_

_It blows me away_

_She's everything I want to say to a woman_

_but couldn't find the words to say_

_She got whatever it is_

_I don't know what to do_

_Cause every time I try and tell her how I feel_

_it comes out "I love you"__You got whatever it is_

Blown away didn't seem like strong enough words, Leonard thought as his attention turned again towards Penny. She was now hunched forwards in his lap, pressing buttons on the controller like mad as alien corpses rained down around her. Leonard laughed a little, how had he gotten so lucky?

_You know I've never been the type that would ever want to stay_

_Bring 'em home at night and they're gone the next day_

_But that all changed when she walked into my life_

_And people askin why it is_

_Tell them I don't know_

_Just something about the woman makes my heart go haywire_

_And she's gonna be my wife_

Leonard quickly found himself over thinking the song but he didn't care. It seemed to fit his situation... at least part of it. He certainly had never been a "bring em home at night and they're gone the next day" kind of guy. But he had his share of experience. He had been with several women over the past few years, even dated a couple. One was a successful Indian lawyer, another a well practiced doctor, who were to say the least, successful. But through all of it he had never felt like he did at this instance. He couldn't describe it, it was a feeling that seemed to surpass even love. He couldn't quite put his finger on it.

_She got whatever it is_

_It blows me away_

_She's everything I want to say to a woman_

_but couldn't find the words to say_

_She got whatever it is_

_I don't know what to do_

_Cause every time I try and tell her how I feel_

_it comes out "I love you"_

_You got whatever it is_

He found himself falling back in time several months. To the day that Penny finally voiced her feelings to him, the day she told him that she loved him for the first time. Leonard remembered it like it was yesterday, he remembered the feeling as he closed the door behind him and muttered "she loves me." This was that feeling, was it closure? Permanence? Intimacy? He wasn't sure, it could have been all of them or none. It didn't really matter he realized, as long as it made him happy, and of that he was sure it did.

_Cause when she loves me_

_Girl that's how I feel_

_Cause when she loves me I'm on top of the world_

_Cause when she loves me I can live forever_

_And she loves me I am untouchable_

That was it he realized! The feeling he had been having that made him so happy. It wasn't him feeling something new towards Penny, it was him realizing just how much she loved him, and how much that made him miss her when she was gone. It was a feeling of not wanting to be with anyone else, not wanting to be _near_ anyone else without the other by your side. Leonard had never truly believed in the term but if he had to give it a name he would call it "soulmate."

_She got whatever it isIt blows me away_

_She everything I wanted to say to a woman_

_but couldn't find the words to say_

_She got whatever it is_

_I don't know what to do_

_Cause every time I try and tell her how I feel_

_it comes out "I love you""i do"_

_You got whatever it is_

_Oh you got whatever it is_

Leonard muttered the last line along with the song and his words seemed to shake Penny from her zone in the game. "Geez, babe its like your not even trying," she said taking a stab at his sub par Halo skills. Leonard just laughed as he realized he hadn't even moved his guy for the entirety of the song.

"What?" Penny asked worried he was laughing at her. "You've got whatever it is," was all the explanation Leonard would give her. She poked him in the ribs making him flinch, "and what's that supposed to mean?" she asked playfully but with hints of seriousness behind her jest.

"It means I love you," Leonard said getting serious too, "more than you can ever imagine, and when I finally get out of this wretched clinic, center, hospital, thing, oh whatever the hell it is, I never want to spend this long apart from you again."

Penny looked like she had tears forming in her eyes as she smiled. She did the only thing she could think of and leaned down and pressed her mouth to his locking them both in a passionate kiss that seemed to last minutes. "I would like nothing better," she whispered pulling back ever so slightly.

They were shaken back to the present as both their controllers vibrated and they looked back to the TV screen to see both their Spartans dead.

They just laughed.

**There we have it! Hope you liked the combination of the song into the fic. I've loved the song forever and I think it fits well with the couple. I know this was another mostly Leonard chapter but hes fun to write about and the fic is primarily revolving around him. The next chapter I think is going to be the thanksgiving one so it'll include more characters and then we can move on to Xmas!**

**P.S. I know that I started this fic saying that it followed S6 Ep8 and the ILY which its supposed too, I've just kind of changed the dates that everything happened since technically the ILY came after Halloween... lets just imagine Ep8 took place over the summer shall we? :) haha Thanks to all for the reads and reviews!**


	23. Chapter 23: Surprises

**I apologize for the delay in updates, its been hectic what with new years and getting back to work unfortunately. I only get one week vacation which is needless to say, disappointing :/ Anyways I hope we enjoy the Thanksgiving episode here a little out of season but I'm hoping it works :) Thanks to all who have stuck with me thus far, here's wishing for many more chapters to come!**

**Great new episode for those who watched! Gotta love the L/P stuff! Unfortunately the rights to any Big Bang characters were not in my stocking this year for x-mas so still no owner ship here...**

Chapter 23: Surprises

November 22 2012

Leonard anxiously paced back in forth in front of his bed. Well if you could actually call it pacing, he was wheeling back and forth in his wheelchair waiting for Penny to arrive and pick him up. He was so excited to finally get a day away from the recovery center. Sure he was allowed to go outside but it was never the same and only seemed to make him want to leave more, what with being so close to the road.

So Leonard waited for the moment his beautiful girlfriend would swoop in and rescue him from this accursed prison. He laughed to himself as he thought about the metaphor. He shrugged his shoulders a bit then, trying to relax a little and ease some of the soreness from his limbs.

He had been administered his shock treatments just twice in the past week but his daily therapy routine seemed to be taking its toll. Leonard was finding his muscles sorer by the day, it seemed like being shocked with electricity was starting to become his favorite part his remedies.

The door flew open and Leonard was quickly pulled from his thoughts as he looked into the smiling face of Penny. He returned the smile warmly as she wrapped him in a hug, "hey you," she said pulling back to kiss him quick.

"Hey," Leonard responded cheerily, checking his watch, "would ya look at that only 12 minutes past our 12:30 time today," he continued sarcastically.

Penny laughed and jabbed him in the ribs once before wrapping her arms around his neck as she settled into her usual spot on Leonard's lap, "hey now, a girl has things to do you know." He couldn't help but laugh back at that as he responded, "something tells me this things involved doing make up and picking out which shoes to wear."

She just gave him that fake angry glare she used when she was pretending to be mad, "at least I made it right?" Leonard grinned and kissed her nose, "of course, now lets get this show on the road!" He gave a great push on the wheels of his chair and had them moving across the room and into the hallway.

Penny yelped in surprise as they suddenly took flight moving through the building. She quickly calmed and started laughing as Leonard started making car noises as he moved through the multitude of patients at the center.

When they finally reached Penny's car Leonard was forced to stop, "well I think this is the part where you get to give me a ride." She laughed as she got up and opened the passenger door for him, "oh right this way, Mr. Hofstadter," she said in a mock servants voice. They both started laughing at that until Leonard added, "technically the Dr. trumps the Mr. but I think I'll let that slide cause your cute," he tossed in a wink. She giggled, "oh whatever you, need help getting in?"

Leonard moved up to the open door, "I think I can manage," he said reaching up and grabbing the handle inside the door above the seat. He effortlessly pulled himself up and into the passenger seat grasping the hem of his pants next so he could lift his legs into place and fasten his seat belt.

He looked back at Penny who was smiling, "look at Mr. Tough guy over here," she said as she stashed the wheelchair in the trunk, "been workin out have we?"

Leonard laughed, "that's Dr. Tough guy to you Missy," he said as Penny got in the driver seat and turned on the car.

"Oh whatever," she hissed, "when did you become so strong?"

Leonard laughed again, "its not that I'm strong, I'm just staying in shape. Apparently its a common occurrence in those confined to a wheelchair to either gain freakishly large amounts of weight or allow themselves to lose a lot. The center just has an upper body routine they have been putting me through for the past few weeks to make sure I don't fall into that sort of habit. Its really hard actually, I feel like I'm always sore."

It was Penny's turn to laugh, "well that certainly sounds like fun, is that your first time working out?"

"Oh hush up and drive," was the only response she was gonna get.

The drive was simple and seemed familiar to Leonard, "where are we going?" he finally asked, "you still haven't told me what we were doing for Thanksgiving."

"Well duh," Penny responded, "how is it going to be a surprise if you know what it is. Speaking of which put this on." She handed him a blindfold she would sometimes where for sleeping.

"Do I have too?" Leonard whined. "Yes!" Penny argued and as in most cases, Leonard obliged.

The drive lasted about five more minutes by Leonard's rough estimate at which point Penny turned off the car and got his wheelchair all set up outside the door. With him being blindfolded it took the combined effort of both parties to get him into his chair, but it wasn't long before he felt himself being wheeled towards there mysterious destination.

They finally pulled to a stop and Penny said, "okay you can take it off." Leonard eagerly did so anxious for the surprise.

They were in the apartment lobby.

"Um yay?" he both stated and asked. "Oh don't be so sour," Penny teased, "come on it'll be fun, we're doing a group Thanksgiving this year."

"That sounds great honey, it really does, but unless you plan on carrying me up four flights of stairs I'm not really sure how you plan on getting me up there," Leonard said looking seriously confused.

"Well luckily for you I am a wizard," she responded simply moving in front of the elevator which was still covered in yellow caution tape.

"Abra kadabra hocus pocus!" she yelled waving her arms extravagantly through the air... Nothing happened.

Leonard just looked at her blankly for a second there, "um maybe your scholarship to Hogwarts should be revoked."

"Oh shut it," she answered never taking her gaze from the elevator. Until she pulled out her phone and checked it, "see I knew I texted them on time, oh there we go." There was a ding and the elevator doors opened to reveal, Amy, Sheldon, Bernadette, Howard and Raj all standing rather cramped in the small space it provided.

"What the?" was all Leonard could get out clearly shocked and puzzled. The gang laughed stepping out into the lobby, "whats with the caution tape?" he was finally able to ask.

"We put that up ourselves before you got here to make it more of a surprise," Bernadette quickly answered, "did it work?"

"I'll say," Leonard laughed, "when did it get fixed? How?"

"Oh that was easy," Amy started, "we just gave Sheldon here the phone and the number for the management service to the building and let him be himself, it wasn't long really. Apparently the only reason they haven't been fixing it was because no one complained, they didn't think anyone cared."

"Wow, over six years with no elevator and all it takes is a phone call, what the hell?" Leonard exclaimed baffled by this out come. "Well it did help you are physically disabled," Sheldon pointed out, "gave me some excellent bargaining tools."

"Why am I not surprised," Leonard laughed. "Well lets go," he continued, "I gotta try this baby out!"

The small space plus Leonard's wheelchair meant considerably less room than the ride down and even with Penny on his lap, Sheldon and Raj were both stuck taking the stairs. Sheldon because no one wanted to stand in an elevator with him again and Raj because he was the last to call "not it" or in this case the one who didn't say anything.

When they reached the fourth floor Leonard instinctively moved towards apartment 4A. "Hang on, sweetie not just yet, we are doing dinner over there but I have one more surprise to show you." She turned towards the rest of the gang as Sheldon and Raj came up the last few steps, "you guys go ahead we'll catch up."

The girls smiled, knowing what she was about to show Leonard and moved into the apartment followed by their men plus Raj. "Okay to my apartment, HO!" she yelled slapping Leonard playfully on the leg since she was still in his lap.

"I'm no a chariot," Leonard laughed. "Sorry is it better if I say mush?" she asked innocently and Leonard laughed again.

Penny unlocked her door and asked, "ready?" he nodded unsure and she pushed open the door.

Leonard gasped.

Her apartment was almost unrecognizable. It seemed like half of Leonard's apartment had mated with Penny's and produced this sort of crazy offspring.

He saw action figures, memorabilia, posters, games, everything that had belonged to him strewn throughout the apartment. Even his desk was in the corner where Penny's book shelves once sat.

His stuff was everywhere he looked, not in a messy way, but in a "just moved in" sort of way. "Penny," Leonard started almost speechless, "what is this?"

She smiled down at him returning to his lap, "this is us," she said simply. Sheldon and Raj were getting really cozy living over there and since your stuff was kinda just in boxes, I sorta took control. Its nice during those times when I can't get to see you often, makes it feel like your here with me."

Leonard looked into the face of the beautiful green eyed blond in his lap and had to wipe away tears from his eyes, "Penny this is the most amazing thing I've ever seen," he had to stop there unsure if he could find the right words to fit his emotions.

Penny took over and leaned back to kiss him gently before saying, "does this mean you want to live with me?"

Leonard was forced to laugh at that, "I think I would have moved in with you on the day I met you if you'd asked."

"Good answer," Penny said turning to straddle him so they could look face to face. Each others smile was the last thing either saw before they buried each other in a deep passionate kiss. A kiss neither had experienced in a long time, her hands ran through his hair, pulling gently as he slid his beneath her shirt feeling the smoothness of her perfect skin as he grasped her hips.

Then deep within him, Leonard felt a tingle, a sensation he hadn't felt since before his accident, an urge, a primordial arousal that tingled just below his belt. It wasn't a lot but it was progress, and certainly reason to return the kiss harder.

**Again I am so sorry for the incredible delay in posting. Writers block coupled with long work weeks has not been beneficial unfortunately. Hopefully things will get some what back on track before school starts up again in a few weeks. Thanks to all who are still reading, you are the ones who continuously pull me back to the computer to write :). **

**Also kinda pulling another tab from the show here, I think we're just gonna assume that they had a lovely Thanksgiving dinner since I'm not really sure how I would write it at the moment. Maybe during the re write I'll throw another little one shot in or something I'm not sure yet. Thoughts?**


	24. Chapter 24: Reflection

**Guess who's back? Back? Back? Back again? That's right! This past week's valentines day episode pretty much inspired me enough to divert more attention to this fic. I have spent so much of my life leaving stuff half finished and I am not going to let that happen to this fic! It has taken a jump of a few weeks in order to make up a little for my leave of absence and to move the story along a little faster. There's only so much you can write about a guy stuck in a wheelchair after all. Don't fret though, I have plenty of great ideas for later chapters, the only issue is getting there :p So without further ado allow me to get to writing!**

Chapter 24: Reflection

December 16th 2012

Leonard yawned lazily as he casually flicked through the channels on the TV from his bed. Was it really possible that boredom had become a pass time? His finger repeatedly pressed the next channel button on the remote but Leonard's mind was far from processing anything he might have been seeing. He was tired, he was bored, and he missed his friends.

The worst part was, being stuck alone in prison like environment left one with little else but his thoughts. Leonard had tried to keep himself busy. He was constantly calling Dr. Siebert at the university for any new potential problems to work on but he was no theoretical physicist. Without being able to play with the lasers he had spent his life building work seemed dull and dry.

He had his video games and comics, but being alone left him to the quiet solitude of single player games and always made him miss his friends. Halo nights, retro game marathon's, or all night gaming sessions, he couldn't wait to be apart of it again.

Leonard blinked his eyes rapidly and shook his head trying to clear his mind. His thoughts had ended up where they always seemed to go... to Penny. He glanced at the calender beside his bed and realized they were approaching a week since she had last been able to visit. The thought made Leonard sad but he understood as well as she did that there were things that came first.

He smiled as he remembered her last visit. She had taken him by complete surprise by showing up on the day of a new treatment he was supposed to be getting. The nurses had suggested an acupuncture therapy that was designed to trigger new nerve endings and possible revitalize old ones.

When Leonard had first heard this he was terrified. Needles were far from his favorite thing and throwing up on the working table would likely be frowned upon by whoever was jamming needles into his back. It turned out that his fear was unprecedented because 15 minutes before he was scheduled to go in, Penny had arrived.

He had only mentioned the new treatment to her in passing and he had tried not to make it sound like a big deal but she had seen right through him. Penny had known how scared he would be and had made a point to get to the clinic in time (which involved leaving work early) so she could hold his hand through the entire ordeal.

Leonard smiled again as he thought about the treatment. It went smoothly, with him staring into Penny's dazzling green eyes he hardly felt the numerous little pricks as pin after pin was stuck into differing parts of his lower back and legs. He had said it before but he knew at that moment it was true. She was his rock, his foundation when he felt weak, she was why he was here, he had given up so much so she would be safe and he would do it again in a heartbeat if need be.

Tears rimmed his eyes as he turned his gaze to a new picture frame above his head. On the day that Penny had surprised him she brought a present for Leonard as well. It was a picture, simple but with so much meaning. It had been taken at the Thanksgiving dinner, Penny was sitting in Leonard's lap, both of them squished into his wheelchair and both had what were likely the purest smiles either had felt on their faces since the whole ordeal began. They were together with all their friends, in their usual apartment, just like things had always been.

The picture was special, but the frame was just as important to Leonard. As he looked at it, he silently read the quote that was engraved around the outside of the frame:

_Be strong now because things will get better, it might be stormy now but it can't rain forever._

Every time Leonard read those words he had to choke back tears. Penny, in her own beautiful way had given him something he could look at day in and day out to find the strength he needed to fight on. Whenever his treatments took their tole or his workout sessions left him sweaty and sore he could just look at the picture, read the words around it and find a within himself a roaring bonfire where before there might have only been a candles flame.

Leonard's smile was strong now, as was the liquid rimming his eyes. He looked from the picture to himself laying in his bed covered from the waist down by the thin hospital blankets that seem to occupy any recovery clinic or get well center. He was the reason that he was in this position, not being in the clinic, but being bored. He had heard of too many stories of people just giving up after they had landed in a wheelchair. Was he becoming one of those people?

He wouldn't let that happen. Not only for his sake but for the sake of his friends and for the sake of Penny. He would not let them see him broken and depressed. He knew that he wouldn't be able to carry on much longer if he continued hating the minutes slowly dragged by day after day. It was up to him to not only make the most of the situation but to get past it.

Leonard had been in recovery somewhere around three or four months now, he figured trying to do the math in his head. Which meant he could have up to another twelve of treatment. He likely wouldn't be in the center for that long he knew but he had a lot of time left and he was determined to be happy through it.

Without thinking, without worrying about it, Leonard climbed skillfully from his bed to his chair using just his upper body and began to wheel himself out of the room. Suddenly today seemed like a great day to take a little stroll outside. The court yard was always open and fresh air seemed to be calling his name.

Leonard smiled again, strong and true as he opened the door of his room, today was a good day.

**Sorry its a little bit shorter, trying to get back into this whole writing business. Hope we liked Leonard's little reflection and self epiphany, this was hopefully just supposed to give a little insight into the past couple weeks and his continuing struggle of being alone. Hopefully we enjoyed it and as always thank you to those who are still following and who continue to read! :)**


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